I 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


BRIELX 

AND 

CONTEMPORARY  FRENCH 
SOCIETY 


BY 

WILLIAM  H.  SCHEIFLEY 


A  THESIS 


PRESENTED    TO    THE    FACULTY    OF    THE     GRADUATE     SCHOOL     IN 

PARTIAL   FULFILLMENT   OF   THE    REQUIREMENTS    FOR    THE 

DEGREE   OF   DOCTOR    OF    PHILOSOPHY 


Cbe  fknickcxbockct  press 

G.   P.   PUTNAM'S  SONS 
I9I7 


'6^l^0¥ 


Copyright,  19 17 

BY 

WILLIAM   H.   SCHEIFLEY 


{'=t(7 


THE  MEMORY  OF 

MY    MOTHER 


?-."  V  '    i.  V^y   ^JF    JL 


PREFACE 

THE  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  explain  to  Ameri- 
can readers  the  social  themes  treated  by 
Eugene  Brieux  in  his  dramas  and  their  relation  to 
French  society.  I  realize  very  well  that  such  an 
undertaking  is  not  easy;  the  difficulties  in  any 
attempt  to  estimate  contemporary  foreign  litera- 
ture are  many  and  real.  It  is  always  hazardous  to 
judge  contemporary  writers,  and  French  literature 
is  possibly  even  more  baffling  than  that  of  most 
countries  for  a  foreigner  to  criticize.  At  least 
Renan  declared  that  the  essential  characteristic 
of  the  French  genius  was  not  to  be  well  under- 
stood abroad;  and  Henry  Bidou  has  recently 
asserted  that  it  is  stupefying  to  read  what  a 
foreigner  will  write  when  discussing  French  litera- 
ture. Yet  the  attempt  to  explain  Brieux  seems 
justified  in  view  of  the  great  demand  for  the  few 
available  books  on  him  and  on  such  contemporaries 
of  his  as  Ibsen,  Strindberg,  and  Shaw. 

In  the  preparation  of  my  work,  I  have  had  two 
objects  in  view:  (i)  a  consideration  of  both  the 
literary  value  and  the  purpose  of  each  play  of 
Brieux;  (2)  the  testimony  of  other  writers,  either 
in  critical  or  in  creative  work,  regarding  the  condi- 
tions that  gave  rise  to  a  particular  play  of  Brieux 


vi  Preface 

and  the  extent  to  which  it  reflects  the  spirit  of  the 
time.' 

The  consideration  of  other  authors  has  necessi- 
tated frequent  recourse  to  the  novel.  This  is 
justifiable  in  a  social  subject,  where  after  all  the 
idea,  and  not  the  literary  form,  is  the  essential 
thing.  On  prend  son  hien  oil  on  le  trouve.  More- 
over, the  French  realistic  drama,  which  practically 
developed  out  of  the  realistic  novel,  from  which  it 
emancipated  itself  only  about  1890,  is  so  closely 
related  to  the  parent  genrg  that  one  can  ill  afford 
to  limit  a  social  subject  to  the  drama  alone. 

Sympathy,  it  seems  to  me,  should  form  the 
basis  of  literary  criticism.  For,  according  to 
Henry  Bordeaux,  '^comprendre  est  le  reflet  de 
creer^ "  and  only  a  sympathetic  attitude  can  enable 
the  critic  to  vivify  an  author's  creation  sufficiently 
to  understand  it. 

I  now  express  my  thanks  to  the  various  French 
men  of  letters  and  critics  who  have  so  generously 
given  me  information  about  my  subject,  especially 
to  M.  Adrien  Bertrand,  M.  Andre  Couvreur, 
Vicomte  G.  d'Avenel,  and  Maitre  Jules  Borde. 
It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  acknowledge  my 
obligation  to  Dr.  G.  H.  Maynadier,  of  Harvard 

'  "The  study  of  the  drama,  **  declares  J.  E.  Bodley,  "Is  essential 
to  an  acquaintance  with  the  political  as  well  as  the  social  phases 
of  the  French  nation.  .  .  .  Thus  a  comedy  of  modem  life, 
studied  together  with  the  attitude  of  its  audience  and  the  com- 
ments of  its  critics,  will  sometimes  give  a  juster  insight  into  a 
subject  of  actual  interest  than  all  the  polemics  ever  written  upon 
it."     France  (1898),  vol.  ii,  p.  311. 


Preface 


Vll 


University,  for  invaluable  aid  in  the  revision  of  the 
manuscript.  I  am  particularly  indebted  to  Pro- 
fessor J.  P.  Wickersham  Crawford,  without  whose 
constant  suggestions  and  encouragement  my 
book  would  have  been  impossible. 

W.H.S. 

University  of  Pennsylvania, 
March,  19 17. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — The   Man   and   the   Scope   of   his 

Work  ......         i 

II.— Brieux's  Minor  Plays.      His   Con- 
ception OF  THE   DrAIVIA  .  .         20 

III. — ^Artists     according     to      Recent 

French  Literature      .         .         .31 

IV. — The  Declasses         .         .         .         .67 

V. — The    Relation    between    Parents 

AND  Children       .         .         .         .101 

VI. — Politics  in  Recent  French  Litera- 
ture    ......     138 


VII. — Charity,  Philanthropy,  Industrial 
Beneficence 


VIII. — Literature  and  Science. 

IX. — Marriage  and  the  Dowry 
X. — Divorce 

XI. — Separation  and  the  Child 
XII. — ^Adultery 

ix 


172 
202 

233 

255 

280 

302 


X  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIII. — The  French  Magistracy  .         .325 

XIV. — Wet  Nursing.     Venereal   Diseases  36-;. 

XV. — Character  of  the  French  People. 

Religion       .....  387 

XVI. — Conclusion 412 

Index      ......  429 


BRIEUX    AND    CONTEMPORARY 
FRENCH    SOCIETY 


Brieux  and  Contemporary 
French  Society 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  MAN  AND  THE   SCOPE  OF  HIS  WORK 

TO  many  Americans,  unfortunately,  the  name 
of  Eugene  Brieux  suggests  only  the  author 
oi  Damaged  Goods  {Les  Avaries) .  This  fact  points 
to  a  radical  misconception  of  a  great  dramatist 
and  his  work,  for  Les  Avaries  ranks  among 
Brieux's  poorest  plays.  It  is  a  dozen  others  or 
so  which  have  built  high  his  reputation  in  France, 
which  have  led  the  eminent  critic,  Leopold  Lacour, 
in  writing  of  Brieux  recently,  to  pay  him  the  sig- 
nificant tribute:  ''Nous  saliw7is  en  liii  un  Frangais 
de  race.''  But  even  if  Americans  knew  far  more 
about  Brieux's  works  than  they  do,  they  might, 
like  many  of  his  compatriots,  know  little  of  the 
man  himself.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that,  although 
for  some  years  Eugene  Brieux  has  been  a  familiar 
name  to  everybody  interested  in  the  French  drama, 
as  yet  almost  nothing  has  been  published  regard- 
ing his   private  life.     He  would   seem   to  have 

I 


2  Brieux  and  French  Society 

adopted  the  attitude  of  Emile  Augler,  who  once 
repUed  to  a  person  requesting  biographical  in- 
formation: "I  was  born  in  1820.  Since  then, 
nothing  has  happened  to  me." 

It  is  discouraging  to  try  to  write  the  biography 
of  a  man  who  shuns  reporters,  scorns  publicity, 
and  fails  to  inform  people  of  his  plans  and  changes 
of  residence.^  As  early  as  1902,  one  critic,  im- 
pressed with  this  trait  of  the  dramatist,  wrote : 

Ten  years  ago,  M.  Brieux  was  unknown.  To-day 
he  is  almost  famous,  and  his  work  is  considerable, 
both  in  quality  and  in  quantity.  Yet  his  personality 
remains  unknown  to  the  public  at  large.  In  the 
midst  of  an  epoch  in  which  the  least  literary  .  .  . 
strive  to  climb  the  ladder  of  renown,  M.  Brieux,  as 
original  in  his  private  life  as  in  his  literary  work, 
appears  to  have  a  talent  for  silence.  He  is  referred 
to  only  in  connection  with  his  plays.  I  could  not 
say  whether  his  usual  residence  is  in  the  city  or  in 
the  country.^ 

Eugene  Brieux  was  born  in  Paris,  in  1858.  His 
parents,  who  belonged  to  the  artisan  class,  lived 

»  "It  seems  to  me,"  says  Emile  Faguet,  "that  praise  of  Brieux 
appears  too  rarely  in  the  press,  either  because  he  does  not  ad- 
vertise himself  or  for  whatever  reason  it  be."  Rev.  Bleue,  Oct. 
12,  1901. 

After  quoting  a  letter  in  which  Maupassant  takes  the  view 
that  an  author's  works  belong  to  the  public,  but  not  his  person- 
ality, E.  Maynial  observes  that  nowadays  an  author's  private 
life  seems  to  interest  the  reading  public  more  than  do  his  works. 
La  Vie  et  VCEnvre  de  Maupassant,  p.  10. 

^  Fr.  Veuillot,  Les  Predicateurs  de  la  Scene,  p.  41. 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work     3 

in  the  Temple  district.  It  was  there  that  his 
boyhood  was  spent;  and  his  character  bears  the 
imprint  of  those  early  surroundings,  to  which  he 
owes,  in  part,  his  remarkable  insight  into  the  life 
of  the  industrial  classes  and  his  sympathetic  atti- 
tude toward  them.  ^  Socially,  then,  Brieux  re- 
presents the  border  ground  between  the  common 
people  and  the  bourgeoisie,  though  certain  of 
his  salient  traits:  sincerity,  earnestness,  tenacity, 
language,  vigour,  and  simplicity  of  style — classify 
him  rather  with  the  f 6rmer.  ^  In  his  Discours  de 
Reception,  on  becoming  a  member  of  the  Academy, 
he  mentioned  the  humble  circumstances  of  his 
origin,  if  not  with  a  justifiable  feeling  of  pride,  at 
least  without  making  any  apology  for  his  entry 
into  an  august  body  generally  composed  of  the 
upper  classes. 

Nowadays,  as  soon  as  a  man  has  acquired  fame, 
it  is  customary  to  consult  the  records  of  the  schools 
he  attended,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  traces  of 
precocious  genius.  I  am  unable  to  say  whether 
this  has  been  done  in  Brieux's  case,  but  it  would 
hardly  be  worth  while,  since  his  real  education 
began  after  his  school  days,  with  nobody  but 
himself    as    his    teacher.     His    actual    schooling, 


^  It  is  said  that  he  and  his  parents  hoped  naively  that  the 
municipal  bonds,  in  which  they  invested  their  modest  savings, 
might  some  day  draw  the  first  prize.  But  this  turned  out  as  the 
fable  of  the  Hidden  Treasure.     Adolphe  Brisson,  Les  Propheies. 

'11.  Pradal6s  characterizes  ham  as  "democratic,  slow-going, 
architect  of  his  own  fortunes."     Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  14,  1901. 


4  Brieux  and  French  Society 

which  ended  with  his  thirteenth  year,  carried  him 
no  farther  than  the  Ecole  communale,  conducted 
by  a  rehgious  order,  the  Christian  Brothers,  and 
a  commercial  school,  the  Ecole  primaire  stiperieure, 
called  the  Ecole  Turgot.  ^  This  afterwards  had  the 
honour  of  presenting  Brieux  with  an  academician's 
sword.  He  is  its  first  pupil  to  enter  the  French 
Academy.  Even  the  great  Turgot  himself,  whose 
name  has  been  given  to  the  school,  was  not  one 
of  the  forty  Immortals. 

When  young  Brieux  left  school,  as  we  are  told 
by  M.  de  Segur,  he  had  a  passion  for  reading, 
which  consumed  all  his  savings.  He  was  a  good 
customer  of  the  popular  series  called  the  Bih- 
liotJieqiie  Nationale,^  a  collection  which  makes 
accessible  not  only  the  masterpieces  of  French 
literature,  but,  in  translation,  those  of  foreign 
tongues  as  well,  at  the  uniform  price  of  five  sous 
a  volume.  It  is  said  that  the  boy  devoured  what- 
ever he  could  lay  hands  upon,  sometimes  reading 
by  the  light  of  a  gas  jet  in  the  stairway,  in  order 
to  economize.  Among  the  works  that  first  im- 
pressed him  were  Chateaubriand's  Atala  and 
Rene,  Murger's  Latin  Quarter,  and  Goethe's  Faust. 
He  early  determined  to  become  a  man  of  letters, 
a  career  which  usually  presupposes  some  know- 
ledge of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  so  he  undertook 
the  study  of  these  languages  by  himself.     Greek 

*  He  attended  also  an  evening  school  for  a  time,  but  this 
'■oems  to  have  been  the  Turgot  School. 

*  "Disc,  dc  Rdponse,  ''Journal  des  Dcbats,  May  13,  1910. 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work     5 

proved  too  difficult  for  him  to  master,  but  in 
Latin  he  attained  results  of  which  many  a  classical 
student  might  not  be  ashamed. 

The  future  of  the  lad  of  fourteen,  with  only  a 
rudimentary  education  and  no  fmancial  means, 
was  not  bright.  Left  an  orphan  at  that  early 
age,  for  a  time  young  Brieux  led  a  dreamy,  soli- 
tary life,  prone  to  pass  from  enthusiasm  to  mel- 
ancholy and  discouragement.  But  fortunately, 
because  he  already  had  a  goal  in  view,  he  spurned 
the  frivolous  amusements  of  his  companions  and 
kept  his  own  way,  satisfying  as  best  he  could  his 
thirst  for  knowledge.  Ideas  were  beginning  to 
surge  in  his  head  and  seek  expression.  His  lot 
and  that  of  hundreds  of  his  fellow-creatures 
brought  vividly  before  him  the  inconsistencies 
and  injustice  of  the  world.  The  spectacle  pre- 
sented by  a  large  city  like  Paris,  Vv^ith  the  misery 
and  suffering  of  the  needy,  and  the  vanity  and 
moral  depravity  of  the  well-to-do,  could  not  fail 
to  impress  a  serious-minded  youth.  And  the 
mxssage  of  sympathy  sent  by  Brieux  early  in  the 
European  war  to  those  soldiers  at  the  front  who 
had  no  near  relations,  shows  that  he  has  not  for- 
gotten his  own  orphan  days.  He  wrote,  in  part : 
'  *  You  have  neither  home  nor  family  nor  property, 
and  yet  you  fight  with  as  much  heart  as  those  who 
receive  letters  by  each  mail.  .  .  .  You  fight  for 
the  future.  .  .  .  Others  are  born  into  a  family; 
you  will  have  the  distinction  of  creating  yours. 
They  have  received;  you  will  give." 


6  Brieux  and  French  Society 

No  wonder  that  the  future  "apostle  of  the 
Temple  district,"  like  young  Pierre  Loti,  at 
one     time    thought    of   consecrating  his   life  to 

■^  missionary  work.  In  this  he  may  have  been 
influenced  by  the  clerical  atmosphere  of  the 
Ecole  communale,  with  its  directing  Brothers 
of  Christian  Doctrine,  and  also  by  Chateau- 
briand's Genie  du  Christianisme,  which  he  read 
about  this  time.  But  though  young  Brieux's 
evangelistic  ardour  seems  for  a  while  to  have 
been  enthusiastic,  he  had  hardly  reached 
the  age  for  choosing  a  permanent  career.  To- 
gether with  missionary  ideas,  the  drama  and 
poetry  were  haunting  his  mind.  At  the  age 
of    fifteen,    he   wrote   his   first  dramatic  produc- 

""  tion — a  thesis  play,  of  course.  In  this  way, 
his  evangelistic  mood  found  expression,  and 
he  soon  realized  that  it  was  not  necessary  to 
leave  Paris  in  order  to  do  missionary  work. 
Only,  I  suspect  that  he  would  have  found  it 
infinitely  easier  to  convert  the  heathen  to 
Christianity  than  to  correct  the  social  abuses 
in  France. 

The  writing  of  plays  was  inspiring  work,  but 
it  yielded  nothing.     So  Brieux  began  to  earn  his 

f  livelihood  as  a  bank  clerk,  reserving  his  evenings 
for  writing  and  study.  At  that  time  perhaps  not 
half  so  many  persons  as  at  present  were  trying 
their  luck  at  the  drama,  and  yet  a  beginner  was 
obliged  to  carry  his  manuscript  from  one  theatre 
director  to  another  for  years  before  obtaining  a 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work     7 

hearing.  ^  In  the  preface  to  Blanchette,  dated  1892, 
Brieux,  in  thanking  M.  Antoine,  director  of  the 
Theatre  Libre,  for  giving  him  a  chance,  says: 
"For  ten  years  I  peddled  my  manuscripts  about 
in  all  the  theatres  of  Paris;  most  often  they  were 
not  even  read."''  His  appeal  to  Sarcey  brought 
only  the  sententious  reply  that  "a  shoemaker  must 
learn  his  trade  before  presuming  to  make  shoes." 
Emile  Augier,  whom  he  revered  as  a  master,  re- 
turned his  manuscript  unopened.  Some  years 
later,  while  in  Rouen,  Brieux  appealed  to  Zola: 
"I  can't  succeed  without  Paris.  Help  me  to  get 
a  hearing  there,"  to  which  the  prophet  of  Medan 
replied  ironically:  "Young  man,  poverty  is  an 
excellent  teacher.  To  help  you  would  be  to  hurt 
you." 

These  bitter  experiences,  revealing  as  they  did 
the  hard-hearted  egotism  of  the  mighty,  impressed 
our  future  dramatist  so  profoundly  that  in  his 
righteous  indignation  he  vowed  that  if  he  ever 
won  the  favour  of  the  Muses,  he  would  be  more 
considerate  towards  young  authors.  It  is  said 
that  he  has  never  returned  a  manuscript  un- 
opened. 3 

'  Humiliating  experiences  of  this  sort,  more  than  anything  else, 
made  a  misanthrope  of  Henry  Becque.  Cf.  Murger's  satire  in 
La  Vie  de  Boheme,  ch.  xvi. 

'  Georges  dc  Porto-Riche  avers  that  at  the  present  time 
there  is  not  a  single  theatre  disposed  to  read  a  young  author's 
dramas. 

3 The  deplorable  situation  in  dramatic  "diplomacy"  maybe 
inferred  from  Alphonse  Sdche's  arraignment  of  present  abuses. 


8  Brieux  and  French  Society 

^      In   1879,   Brieux  succeeded  in  getting  a  play 

represented  at  the  Cluny  Theatre.'     But  the  one 

performance  led  to  nothing,  so  he  decided  to  give 

f  up  his  position  in  the  bank  for  journalism,  in  the 

{  hope  of  furthering  his  literary  ambition.     He  at 

first  tried  newspaper  work  at  Dieppe;  then  in 

Rouen,  in  the  office  of  Le  Nouvelliste.     Beginning 

here  as  secretary,  he  later  became  editor-in-chief.  ^ 

Brieux' s  six  years'  sojourn  in  the  Norman  capital 

was  a  valuable  period  of  literary  training.  ^     Better 

still,  it  enabled  him  to   observe  provincial   life, 


"In  this  corrupt  business,"  he  declares,  "the  man  of  merit  is 
not  the  one  who  writes  the  play,  but  rather  the  one  who  gets 
it  accepted  for  representation,  who  disposes  of  it.  A  good  pro- 
ducer has  his  value,  but  a  good  agent  is  worth  more.  The 
authors  who  have  'arrived'  assume  the  more  hostile  attitude 
toward  young  dramatists  as  their  talent  declines.  Once  they 
have  become  established  in  a  theatre,  they  insist  that  only  their 
pieces  shall  be  played.  In  order  to  prevent  the  barbarians — 
the  young  authors — from  endangering  their  position,  they  stipu- 
late in  the  contract  that  their  play  shall  not  be  dropped  from 
the  repertoire  as  long  as  the  gate  receipts  amount  to  a  fixed  sum." 
Le  Desarroi  de  la  Consc.  Jr.,  p.  131. 

^  Bernard  Palissy.     Cf.  Chapter  II,  p.  21. 

2  The  Nouvelliste  numbered  among  its  illustrious  contributors 
Louis  Veuillot  (afterwards  editor  of  UUnivers),  Flaubert,  and 
Maupassant.  At  the  time  of  Brieux's  arrival  (1885),  Flaubert 
had  been  dead  five  years,  but  his  name  was  still  adored  as  that 
of  a  divinity.  E.  Perree,  "Brieux  Journaliste  et  le  'Nouvelliste' 
de  Rouen,"  Journal  des  Debats,  May  13,  1910. 

3  A  recent  writer,  speaking  of  a  similar  formative  period  in 
the  career  of  Herbert  Spencer,  says:  "He  took  up  journalism 
with  fervour,  thus  broadening  his  knowledge  of  men  in  this  new 
school,  which  is  so  profitable  to  those  whom  it  does  not  enslave." 
G.  Rageot,  Deux  Mondes,  Aug.  i,  1904. 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work     9 

without  which  a  part — and  not  the  least  valuable 
— of  his  later  plays  would  have  been  impossible.^ 
In  Rouen  he  had  two  or  three  minor  plays  pro- 
duced, but  all  the  time  he  was  keeping  an  atten- 
tive eye  on  the  metropolis.  Paris  still  remained 
the  goal  of  his  ambition,  the  condition  of  his 
success  and  fame. 

And  the  time  was  near  for  fame,  success,  and 
ambition  all  to  be  realized.  For  several  years 
Brieux's  dramatic  pov/er  had  been  gaining  in 
naturalness,  in  the  art  of  satire  and  le  don  de  V ob- 
servation. Thanks  to  these  qualities,  the  manu- 
script of  his  Menages  d' Artistes  now  attracted  the 
attention  of  Antoine,  w^ho  accepted  it  in  1890  at 
the  Theatre  Libre.''  Although  the  piece  was  not 
a  complete  success,  owing  both  to  the  nature  of 
the  subject,  which  might  have  been  better  adapted 
to  Brieux's  dramatic  temperament,   and  to  the 

*  Accordinj^  to  R.  Douniic,  the  great  defect  in  the  majority  of 
representations  of  social  life  presented  in  France  and  abroad 
is  that  they  are  created  by  men  of  letters,  who,  having  volun- 
tarily constituted  of  themselves  an  isolated  class,  see  society 
only  from  the  outside.  If  such  an  author  attempts  to  paint  for 
us  the  manners  of  the  common  people  and  of  the  country,  his 
incapacity  at  once  becomes  manifest.  Our  urban  citizen,  with 
his  brain  overworked  from  intellectual  effort,  cannot  under- 
stand the  simple  forms  of  life,  which  seem  to  him  almost  bar- 
barous, lolstoy,  on  the  other  hand,  is  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  those  whom  he  describes.  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  I5» 
1900. 

*  This  play  denies  the  artist  the  right  to  sacrifice  his 
family  for  his  work,  and  satirizes  the  claim  that  the  cre- 
ative artist  requires  a  life  of  dissipation.  Cf.  Chapter  III, 
p.  39  ff. 


10        Brieux  and  French  Society 

attitude  of  the  spectators  at  the  Theatre  Libre,* 
yet  the  results  encouraged  him  and  spurred  his 
ambition.  More  important  still,  Brieux  now  had 
the  conviction  that  he  was  on  the  right  road,  and 
that  by  choosing  a  subject  more  in  harmony  with 
his  genius,  he  could  write  a  play  of  distinguished 
merit. 

Events  soon  confirmed  this  conviction  and  justi- 
fied his  expectations;  for  with  Blanchette,  which 
Antoine  produced  two  years  later  (1892),  Brieux's 

•*liopes  were  fully  realized.  This  time  the  subject, 
the  playwright's  temperament,  his  dramatic  prin- 
ciples— all  harmonized.  The  result  was  a  play 
which  reached  its  hundredth  performance  and 
placed  Brieux  in  the  front  rank  of  the  younger 
French  dramatists.^  Antoine  gave  the  piece 
frequently  during  the  rest  of  his  connection  with 
the  Theatre  Libre,  took  it  "on  tour"  in  the  "pro- 

j  vinces,"  and  inaugurated  the  Theatre  Antoine 
with  it  in  1897.  The  play  was  later  added  to  the 
repertoire  of  the  Comedie  Frangaise.  Brieux  is 
still  referred  to  as  "the  author  of  Blanchette.'"  But 
though  Blanchette  first  won  fame  for  Brieux, 
Manages  d' Artistes  marks  the  turning  point  in  his 
career.  He  would  probably  not  have  written 
Blanchette  at  all,  had  it  not  been  for  the  success 
of  the  earlier  play  and  the  encouragement  that 

^  See  Chapter  III,  p.  43. 

» In  this  comedy,  he  shows  the  inconsistency  of  the  State  in 
encouraging  its  peasantry  to  rise  above  their  social  station 
through  education. 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work    ii 

he  received  from  Antoine,  who  henceforth  became     \ 
his  staunch  friend  and  dramatic  promoter.  ^ 

For  the  first  performance  of  Menages  d' Artistes 
and  Blanchette,  Brieux  made  the  trip  from  Rouen 
to  Paris,  hke  the  great  Corneille  himself.  But 
this  same  year  (1892)  he  gave  up  the  editorship 
of  the  Nouvelliste  and  returned  to  Paris,  with  the 
intention  of  devoting  himself  to  his  work  as  play- 
wright. At  the  same  tim.e,  he  contributed  articles 
on  literary  and  social  topics  to  the  Patrie,  the 
Gaulois,  and  the  Figaro.^  From  1893  to  1899,^-'. 
he  was  both  the  dramatic  and  musical  critic  of 
La  Vie  Contemporaine,     He  also  gave  some  lec- 

^  This  remarkable  theatre-manager  and  actor,  Andrd  Antoine, 
was  for  a  time  an  obscure  employ^  at  one  of  the  Paris  gas-plants, 
who  took  up  the  Thespian  art,  founded  the  Theatre  Libre 
(1887),  removed  to  the  Theatre  Antoine,  ten  years  later,  and 
ill  1906  was  appointed  director  of  the  Odeon,  one  of  the  four 
theatres  of  Paris  subsidized  by  the  State.  He  resigned  this 
directorship  in  1914.  Since  then  he  has  been  mentioned  only  in 
connection  with  popular  performances. 

The  purpose  of  the  Theatre  Libre  was  to  give  young  playwrights 
a  hearing  and  to  encourage  a  naturahstic  form  of  realism  somewhat 
after  the  pattern  of  Becque's  Les  Corbeatix,  to  replace  the  dis- 
credited "well-made"  piece  as  represented  by  Dumas,  Pailleron, 
and  Sardou.  Antoine,  who  has  justly  been  called  the  most 
remarkable  liomme  de  thedtre  produced  by  France  in  his  genera- 
tion, "discovered"  not  only  Brieux,  but  also  Curcl,  Lavedan, 
Descaves,  Maurice  Boniface,  and  certain  minor  French  drama- 
tists of  our  time. 

'  Dictionnaire  nat.  des  Contemp.,  iv,  p.  356.  Some  of  these 
articles  bear  evidence  that  the  subsequent  author  of  Les  Trots 
Filles  de  M.  Dupont  could  even  write  occasionally  in  the  ironical 
spirit  of  Parisian  boulevard  blague;  but  this  tone  was  not  in 
harmony  with  his  personal  convictions. 


n 

12         Bricux  and  French  Society 

tures  at  the  Salle  des  Capucines.  ^  Soon,  however, 
dramatic  production  absorbed  all  his  time.  Plays 
now  followed  in  rapid  succession.  In  1892  ap- 
peared M.  de  Rehoval,  a  four-act  satire  on  the 
pompous  conscientiousness  of  a  model  bourgeois; 
the  next  year,  La  Couvee,  a  play  dealing  with  the 
home  training  of  children;  in  1894,  L'Engrenage,  a 
comedy  showing  the  evils  of  universal  suffrage; 
/\/)(  two  years  later,  Les  Bienjaiteurs,  a  satire  on 
worldly  charity.  UEvasion^  a  satire  on  pseudo- 
science,   which  was  represented   this  same  year 

»  (1896),  marks  the  close  of  what  some  critics  have 
termed  the  first  period  of  Brieux's  dramatic  pro- 
duction. With  this  play,  according  to  them,  ends 
for  several  years  the  predominance  in  his  dramas 
of  the  comic  element  over  the  militant  seriousness 
which  becomes  so  noticeable  in  the  six  or  eight 
dramas  that  follow.  The  distinction  no  doubt 
has  a  certain  justification,  but  it  may  be  insisted 
on  too  strongly.  ^ 

The  second  division  of  his  plays,   which  has 

,  been  characterized  as  Brieux's  Storm  and  vStress 
x  period,  was  inaugurated  in  1897  with  Lcs  Trois 
^  Filles  de  M.  Dtipont,  a  study  of  marriage  based  on 
the  dot-system.  Next  followed  Rcstdtat  des  Courses 
(1898),  a  play  depicting  the  misery  caused  among 
the  working  classes  by  gambling  on  the  races; 
and  the  same  year,  Le  Berceau,  a  drama  combat- 

^  ihid. 

*  Barrett  II.  Ckirk,  The  Drafna,  Aug.,  19 13,  sets  forth  clearly 
the  reason  for  a  threc-i)criod  division  of  Brieux's  plays. 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work   13 

ing  the  abuses  of  divorce.  In  La  E.obe  Rouge 
(1900),  Brieux  shows  the  deplorable  consequences 
of  the  "fever  for  promotion"  among  the  French 
magistracy.  In  Les  Femplagantes  (1901),  he  de- 
nounces the  evils  of  wet-nursing.  In  Les  Avarics 
(1901),  he  sounds  a  cry  of  alarm  against  the 
ravages  of  syphilis  in  marriage.  La  Petite  Amie 
(1902)  exposes  the  egotism  of  the  bourgeoisie  and 
their  misconception  of  parental  duty.  Alaternite 
(1903),  a  violent  denunciation  of  the  egotism  of 
men  and  of  the  ''hypocrisies"  of  society  in  the 
matter  of  motherhood,  completes  his  second 
period. 

A  milder,  more  optimistic  tone  of  Brieux's  dra-  S/  y 
matic  work  begins  with  La  Deserteuse  (1904),  which  ;••.  - 
opens  his  so-called  final  period.  This  piece  studies 
the  situation  of  child  and  parents  in  the  case  of 
separation  or  divorce.  V Armature  (1905),  from 
a  novel  by  Paul  Hervieu,  shows  money  to  be  a 
great  corrupter  of  morals.  Les  Ilannetons  (1906) 
explodes  the  claim  that  free  love  is  less  enslaving 
than  marriage.  La  Frangaise  (1907)  deplores  the 
misconception  of  France  and  of  French  morals 
abroad,  owing  to  the  frivolous  tendencies  of 
certain  of  her  writers.  Swiojie  (1908)  denies  the 
right  of  a  man  to  kill  his  wife  for  adultery.  Siizette 
(1909)  supplements  Le  Berceau  and  La  Deserteuse, 
emphasizing  the  rights  of  the  child  and  of  the 
mother,  in  case  of  a  separation  of  the  parents. 
La  Foi  (1909)  shows  the  desirability  of  religious 
faith.     La  Femme  Seule   (191 3)   pleads  for  fair 


14         Brieux  and  French  Society 

play  between  the  sexes  and  denounces  the  in- 
justices to  which  women  are  exposed  in  trying  to 
make  an  independent  living.  Le  Bourgeois  aux 
Champs  (19 14),  Brieux 's  last  piece,  emphasizes 
the  incompatibility  existing  between  the  bour- 
geoisie and  the  peasantry,  and  points  out 
the  futility  of  a  bourgeois  with  a  smattering 
of  science  presuming  to  become  a  gentleman 
farmer. 

Up  to  the  present,  then,  there  is  a  total  of 
twenty-two  serious  plays  by  Brieux,  and  six  or 
eight  lighter  pieces,  which  is  no  mean  achieve- 
ment for  a  man  who,  by  force  of  circumstances, 
got  started  late  and  whose  dramatic  career,  we 
hope,  is  not  yet  ended.  The  fertility  of  Brieux's 
mind  seems  the  more  remarkable  in  that  each 
play,  with  the  exception  of  Le  BerceaUj  La  Deser- 
teuse,  Suzette,  and  Simone,  treats  an  independent 
\  subject.  This  does  not  mean  that  there  is  no  re- 
\  petition  of  ideas.  Such  a  matter  as  the  relation 
of  typical  bourgeois  parents  to  their  children, 
Brieux  may  touch  on  in  half  a  dozen  different 
plays;  but  what  is  of  chief  importance  in  one  will 
be  subordinate  in  the  others.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  four  plays  just  noted,  the  main  theme 
is  always  varied.  How  different  this  makes 
Brieux's  task  from  that  of  a  dramatist  vv^ho  con- 
tents himself  with  the  infinite  variations  of  the 
theme  of  sex  and  adultery!  I  suspect  that  Les 
IlannetonSy  Brieux's  one  comedy  of  the  sex  pattern, 
cost  him  less  than  half  the  average  time  required 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work   15 

for  what  may  be  called  his  strictly  "social"  plays.' 
And  Les  Ha7inetons  compares  very  favourably 
with  the  pieces  of  its  kind.  But  with  Brieux 
the  important  thing  is  the  idea,  however  thorny 
and  unpleasant  the  subject.  And  when  a  strong 
appeal  is  necessary  to  awaken  the  public  conscience, 
he  presents  this  idea  in  the  form  of  a  salutary 
truth,  or  even  a  lesson. 

Brieux  did  not  abandon  Rouen  for  Paris  be- 
cause he  was  unable  to  live  away  from  the 
boulevards,  but  in  order  not  to  lose  the  fruits  of 
his  first  success.  As  soon  as  his  reputation  was 
established,  he  occupied  a  villa  at  Agay,  near 
Cannes,  far  from  the  noise  and  gossip  of  the 
capital.  The  rural  solitude  of  this  abode,  with 
its  blue  sky  and  the  view  over  the  sea,  was  for 
a  time  the  dramatist's  delight.  Unfortunately  a 
road  was  built  by  his  house,  and  tourists  flocked 
to  his  villa  as  to  a  national  curiosity.     In  vain  he 


^  After  all,  it  is  not  easy  to  say  what  we  mean  by  "strictly 
social,"  for,  as  M.  Marion,  a  professor  at  the  College  de  France, 
has  said,  nothing  is  more  comprehensive  than  the  term  "social." 
According  to  his  definition,  social  is  "tout  ce  qui  se  rapporte  h. 
la  vie  de  I'homme  en  societe;  tous  les  actes,  tous  les  etats,  tous 
les  rapports  des  differents  groupements  humains  sont  des  faits 
sociaux;  les  langues,  les  croyances,  les  connaissances,  les  habitudes, 
les  conditions  materielles  de  la  vie,  les  lois  ...  les  institu- 
tions politiques  et  administratives,  les  moeurs,  souvent  si 
diflerentes  de  ces  lois  et  de  ces  institutions,  etc.,  sont  des  faits 
sociaux,  et  constituent  les  objets  d'autant  de  sciences  qui  sont, 
h.  vrai  dire,  des  sciences  sociales.  II  n'est  absolument  aucune 
branche  de  I'histoire  qui  ne  soit  sociale,  h.  prendre  le  mot  dans 
son  sens  large." 


i6         Brieux  and  French  Society 

painted  on  the  yard  wall  '/^Je  suis  venu  ici  pour  etre 
seul  et  travailler'';  he  was  obliged  to  seek  another 
retreat.  This  time  he  chose  a  secluded  region  in 
the  department  of  Loiret.  Here  it  is  one  of  his 
grave  civic  duties  to  serve  as  local  school  examiner 
— an  appropriate  ofBce  for  the  author  of  Blan- 
chette.  He  devotes  his  spare  moments  to  farming. 
He  likes  to  sit  for  hours  at  a  time  on  the  bank  of 
a  stream,  meditating  while  he  watches  his  fishing- 
rod.  ^  In  this  rural  solitude,  he  works  at  his 
manuscripts.  When  matters  connected  with  the 
staging  of  one  of  his  plays  requires  his  presence 
in  Paris,  he  takes  temporary  residence  there. 

M.  Brieux's  personal  appearance  is  described 
by  M.  de  Morsier  as  follows: 

Grand,  solide:  un  maitre  sur  la  plancJie  d'escrime 
comme  sur  les  planches  du  theatre;  avec  le  front  large  et 
haut,  les  longs  cheveux  qui  houclent  rejetes  en  arriere; 
les  yeux  clairs,  d'un  eclat  presque  gcnant — malgre  le 
hon  sourire  de  la  houcJie  dans  la  barbe.  .  .  .  Mais  en 
mcme  temps,  une  taille  clancee;  point  de  forte  carrure 
d'epaules,  et  des  mains  de  femme,  c'est-d-dire  du  gentil- 
homme  campagnard,  du  chasseur,  du  sportsman.^ 

Another  writer  says  that  Brieux  gives  one  the 
impression  of  a  robust  paladin,  so  completely 
does  his  physical  person  correspond  to  his  life  of 
enthusiasm  and  action.  ^  An  English  biographer 
describes  Brieux's  temperament  as 

'  M.  de  Segur,  Disc,  dc  Rcponse. 

'Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  12,  1903.  J  A.  Bcrtrand,  E.  Brieux,  p.  5. 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  His  Work  17 

simple,  direct,  not  modest,  not  assertive;  full  of  the 
right  sort  of  pride,  and  plenty  of  vanity,  doubtless. 
Capable  of  being  serious,  but  not  too  serious.  Keen 
and  interested  at  once,  with  the  native  shrewdness  of 
a  peasant.  Not  a  specialist.  A  very  humane  man 
in  every  way,  simple  and  straightforward,  with  the 
absorbing  eye  of  an  observer  and  the  jaw  of  a  fighter. ' 

Still  another  of  Brieux's  traits  is  given  by  A.-E. 
Sorel,  who  says  of  him:  ''Although  a  man  of  fiery 
earnestness,  he  speaks  with  a  deliberation  which 
enables  him  to  weigh  the  words  he  utters."^ 

Beginning  wdth  1892,  Brieux's  plays  attracted 
more  and  more  attention,  as  he  took  up  one  social 
question  after  another.  Every  year,  as  a  rule, 
he  brought  out  upon  the  boards  for  consideration 
some  crying  abuse  or  some  ulcerous  evil  from  which 
society  and  the  national  welfare  wxre  suffering. 
Blanchette  (1892),  his  first  station  on  the  road  to 
the  supreme  goal  of  French  men  of  letters,  marked 
him  out  to  critics  as  a  playwright  of  promise. 
Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Diipont  (1897),  Le  Berceau 
(1898),  and  La  Robe  Rouge  (1900)  made  him  one 
of  the  foremost  dramatists  of  our  time.  Subse- 
quent plays,  such  as  Les  Remplagantes  (1901), 
Les  Avaries  (1901),  and  Mater nite  (1903),  while 
adding  little  if  anything  to  his  literary  reputation, 
at  least  extended  his  fame  to  the  most  distant 
lands  and  compelled  even  those  not  in  sympathy 
with  his  dramatic  tendencies  to  admit  that  he 

*  P.  V.  Thomas,  The  Plays  of  Eugene  Brieux,  p.  9. 

*  Grande  Rev.^  Feb.  15,  1904. 

9 


1 8         Brieux  and  French  Society 

was  exerting  a  great  influence.'  When,  then, 
after  the  production  of  Simone  (1908),  Brieux 
presented  his  candidacy  for  the  seat  left  vacant 
by  the  death  of  Ludovic  Halevy,  the  Immortals 
received  him  into  their  august  body  (19 10). 

This  crowned  Brieux's  desires  and  satisfied  along- 
cherished  ambition.  He  was  already  connected 
with  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction  and  was  a 
Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honour.  After  the  resig- 
nation of  Jules  Claretie  ( 1 9 1 3) ,  he  was  offered  the  di- 
rectorship of  the  Comedie  Frangaise,  but  he  refused 
this  honour,  because  he  desired  to  write  plays  of  his 
own  instead  of  producing  those  of  other  dramatists. 

In  recent  years  Brieux  has  travelled  extensively 
in  the  Orient,  visiting  India,  Egypt,  and  Japan.  ^ 
He  represented  the  French  Academy  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Letters 
held  in  New  York  in  November,  19 14.  Although 
a  very  busy  man,  he  finds  time  to  render  service 
to  those  in  distress,  as  he  demonstrated  in  19 14 
by  suddenly  appearing  at  the  Palace  of  Justice 
to  testify  on  behalf  of  a  former  acquaintance.^ 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  European  conflict, 
Brieux,  as  President  of  the  French  Committee  for 
the  Blind,  has  devoted  his  entire  time,  except  the 
few  weeks  spent  in  the  United  States,  to  the  re- 

*  "One  may  not  like  this  kind  of  literature,"  says  Paul  Flat, 
in  speaking  of  Brieux's  works,  "but  its  influence  upon  the 
public  can  hardly  be  denied."     Figures  de  ce  Temps. 

^  His  early  interest  in  Japan  is  attested  by  his  curious  Mi-ki-ka 
(1893).  ^  seventeen-page  japonaiserie  rouennaise  in  verse. 

3Le  Matin,  Jan.  27,  1914. 


The  Man  and  Scope  of  his  Work   19 

education  and  rehabilitation  of  tlie  French  sol- 
diers blinded  in  the  war.  ^  A  prominent  critic 
says  of  him  in  all  truth:  "There  exists  nowhere 
a  more  sincere  heart,  a  more  wholesome  person- 
ality, a  more  perfect  moral  sensibility."^ 

Nor,  it  may  be  said,  is  praise  of  him  expressed 
only  by  admiring  critics.  Even  more  eloquent 
testimony  to  his  place  among  French  men  of  let- 
ters is  the  creative  work  of  his  contemporaries. 
Over  and  over  again  you  will  find  novelists  as 
well  as  dramatists  considering  virtually  the  same 
problems  as  Brieux.  Whether  they  anticipate 
him  or  follow  him  is  immaterial;  in  either  case 
they  testify  to  the  general  interest  in  the  themes 
he  treats.  The  documentary  evidence  of  other 
writers,  then,  creative  as  well  as  critical,  must  be 
taken  extensively,  if  one  will  understand  how 
widely  representative  Brieux  is  of  the  serious 
thought  of  French  society  in  recent  years. 

^  "M.  Brieux  has  put  aside  his  writing  and  all  his  other  activi- 
ties," says  Airs.  George  A.  Kessler,  Honorary  Secretary  of  the 
Permanent  American  Blind  Relief  War  Fund,  "in  order  to  apply 
himself  wholly  to  uplifting  those  unfortunates.  His  devotion 
to  their  welfare  has  caused  him  to  become  the  valued  counsellor 
of  M.  Justin  Godart  at  the  War  Office  and  of  AI.  Brisac,  Director 
of  the  Public  Health  Service  at  the  Home  Office,  who  are  officially 
in  charge  of  the  nation's  blinded  soldiers,  and  who  do  nothing 
without  taking  his  advice.  Indeed,  so  great  and  successful 
have  been  his  activities  that  throughout  France  AI.  Brieux  is 
affectionately  known  as  the  'Father  of  the  Blind.'  In  fact,  no 
one  knows  the  blind  so  well  as  he.  Nobody  has  studied  them, 
their  trials  and  their  needs,  with  more  care,  more  intelligence, 
more  heart." 

2  A.  Brisson,  Le  Thedtre,  1908,  p.  77. 


CHAPTER  II 

BRIEUX'S     MINOR    PLAYS.       HIS     CONCEPTION     OF 

THE  DRAMA 

T  is  difficult  to  say  just  how  many  minor  pieces 
Brieux  has  produced,  since  he  did  not  always 
acknowledge  his  creations;  but  the  following  list 
cannot  be  far  from  accurate.  Bernard  Palissy 
(1879);  Le  Bureau  des  Divorces  (1886);  Stenio 
(1888);  Corneille  d  Petit- Couronne  (1890);  La 
Fille  de  Durante  (1890);  Fifine  (1894);  Le  Soldat 
Graindor  (1895);  La  Rose  Bleue  (1895);  VEcole 
des  Belles-Meres  (1898). '  To  these  may  be  added 
M.  de  Rehoval  (1892),  which,  though  a  more  se- 
rious play,  has  nevertheless  remained  unpublished.  ^ 
All,  it  may  be  seen  from  their  dates,  represent 
early  tendencies  or  experiments  of  their  author, 
and  all  fall  within  what  we  have  called  his  first 
period.  Even  the  last,  VEcole  des  Belles-Meres, 
is  a  seeming  rather  than  a  real  exception,  for  like 
Fifine  and  Le  Soldat  Graindor,  it  is  a  making  over 

^  The  Dictionnaire  nat.  des  Contemp.  mentions  also  a  one-act 
piece  entitled  Chacun  chez  Soi,  played  at  Rouen,  in  1894. 

*  Among  Brieux's  miscellaneous  works  might  be  mentioned 
Les  Remplagantes  (1902),  a  novel  in  collaboration  with  M. 
Marcel  Luguet,  and  Le  Credit  agricole  tel  que  le  veulent  nos  paysans 
(1888). 

20 


Brieux's  Minor  Plays  21 

of  material  from  La  Couvee,  written  in  1893.  The 
plays  are  interesting  not  for  themselves,  but 
because  they  show  us  the  beginning  of  Brieux's 
dramatic  career. 

Brieux's  interest  in  the  life  of  Bernard  Palissy 
can  hardly  have  been  mere  chance.  In  the  open- 
ing passage  of  his  Discours  de  Reception,  he  says : 
''At  the  age  of  fifteen,  I  wrote  my  first  drama; 
and  I  promised  myself  that  some  day  I  should 
occupy  the  place  where  I  am  now  standing."^ 
Such  a  determined  spirit  would  find  a  stimulating 
example  in  the  life  of  the  man  who  devoted  twenty 
years  to  the  discovery  of  the  enameler's  art, 
sacrificing  his  furniture,  all  the  combustible  mate- 
rial in  his  house,  and  even  his  floor,  to  feed  the 
furnace  of  his  experiments.  Brieux  must  have 
found  especially  encouraging  the  fact  that  this 
man,  without  a  knowledge  of  Greek  or  Latin, 
distinguished  himself  as  a  glass-maker,  an  archi- 
tect, a  naturalist,  a  geologist,  and  a  lecturer, 
besides  carrying  on  a  religious  propaganda.  ^ 

Bernard  Palissy,  a  one-act  drama  in  verse  writ- 
ten in  collaboration  with  G.  Salandri,  is  set  in 
Saintes  (Charente  Inferieure),  the  scene  of  the 
hero's   memorable   experiments.^       The   time   is 

^  H.  Pradales  calls  Brieux  un  tetu  farouche,  and  emphasizes 
his  tenacity.  "On  peut  Tereintcr  tant  qu'on  voudra,  on  ne 
saurait  le  decourager."     Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  14,  1901. 

^  Bernard  Palissy  acquired  his  education  himself  while  pur- 
suing liis  various  investigations. 

3 1  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Thomas's  work  on  The  Plays  of  Eughie 
Brieux  for  certain  information  about  this  drama. 


oo 


Brieux  and  French  Society 


about  1560.  The  stage  represents  a  room  in 
Palissy's  house,  with  the  red  Hght  of  furnaces  in 
the  background.  All  the  furniture  and  even  the 
doors  have  been  used  to  feed  the  fires.  ^ 

But  Palissy  has  the  mettle  of  the  true  artist: 
not  content  with  being  the  most  distinguished  of 
glass-painters,  he  has  determined  to  wrest  from 
nature  the  secret  of  making  enamel.  This  has 
become  his  ruling  passion.  ^  His  wife  and  daughter, 
after  years  of  privation  and  suffering,  decide  to 
leave  him  for  the  time  as  the  only  means  of  mak- 
ing him  listen  to  reason.  ^  But  the  daughter, 
Jeanne,  soon  comes  back,  ready,  if  necessary,  to 
give  up  her  fiance  rather  than  betray  her  father's 
glory.  While  Palissy  is  making  a  final  experi- 
ment, his  wife  and  Jeanne's  fiance  return.  A  ter- 
rific explosion  is  heard.  Poor  Palissy  cries  out 
that  all  is  lost;  but  he  soon  discovers  that  the 
explosion  has  revealed  the  precious  secret.  Wife 
and  daughter  forget  their  past  hardships.  The 
play  ends  in  a  eulogy  of  France  and  her  glory; 
that  is,  her  great  men."* 

^  In  order  to  discourage  others  from  making  similar  experi- 
ments, Palissy  exaggerated  the  story  of  his  difficulties,  because 
he  did  not  want  anybody  to  discover  the  secrets  of  his  process. 
C/.  E.  Dupuy,  Bernard  Palissy,  p.  ^T. 

^  Compare  the  savant  and  his  daughter  in  Mailre  Guerin 
(Augier).  The  realism  of  the  laboratory  experiments  in  the 
same  author's  Un  Beau  Mariage  produced  a  great  effect. 

3  Cf.  Balthazar  Claes  and  his  family  in  Balzac's  La  Recherche 
de  VAbsolu. 

4  It  was  originally  Balzac's  intention  to  make  Bernard  Palissy 
the  hero  of  Les  Souffrances  d'un  Inventeur.     He  not  only  bases 


Brieux's  Minor  Plays  23 

Le  Bureau  des  Divorces  {The  Divorce  Office, 
1886),  a  one-act  vaudeville,  was  never  performed. 
It  is  a  satire  on  the  divorce  law  {Lot  Naquei) 
passed  in  1884.  The  inferiority  of  this  farce 
seems  due  to  the  fact  that  its  author  was  not 
seriously  alarmed  over  the  possible  consequences 
of  the  law;  later  in  Le  Berceau,  where  Brieux  is 
in  "dead  earnest,"  he  expresses  his  views  on 
divorce  with  all  seriousness.  This  vaudeville  is 
interesting  only  as  an  earlier  expression  of  his 
attitude. 

Stenio,  a  romantic  drama,  narrates  the  unfor- 
tunate courtship  of  a'^poet  and  the  noble  Gisele, 
the  daughter  of  a  powerful  duke.  The  populace 
applauds  the  courtship  and  the  noblemen  drink 
to  the  young  couple's  love.  But  at  this  point, 
just  as  in  certain  of  Maurice  Maeterlinck's  sym- 
bolist dramas,  events,  as  if  by  a  decree  of  fate, 
take  a  bad  turn.  A  quarrel  ensues,  the  palace 
burns  down,  and  the  lovers  meet  a  tragic  death. 

the  plot  of  his  Illusions  Perdues  in  part  on  the  theme  of  Palissy's 
memorable  struggles,  but  refers  directly  to  the  illustrious  dis- 
coverer with  the  words  of  Daniel  Sechard  to  his  young  wife: 
"In  the  sixteenth  century,  there  lived  near  here,  at  Saintes, 
one  of  the  greatest  men  of  France.  For  he  was  not  only  the 
inventor  of  enamel,  but  also  one  of  the  glorious  precursors  of 
BufTon,  of  Cuvier.  ...  At  one  time  his  wife,  his  children,  and 
all  the  people  of  the  place  were  against  him.  He  wandered 
about  the  country  misunderstood."  But  the  work  of  Balzac 
which  Brieux  may  have  followed  in  part  is  La  Recherche  de  VAh- 
solu,  the  story  of  Balthazar  Claes,  a  chemist  of  Douai,  whose 
long  experiments,  like  Palissy's,  bring  financial  ruin  to  his  wife 
and  children. 


24        Brieux  and  French  Society 

This  drama  was  produced  at  the  Theatre  Frangais 
in  Rouen.  ^  It  is  probably  based  vaguely  on 
Norman  history,  or  at  least  on  legend.  The  piece 
has  not  been  published. 

I  have  not  succeeded  in  finding  any  detailed 
information  about  Corneille  d  Petit-Couronrie,^ 
The  Dictionnaire  national  des  Contemporains,^ 
calls  it  an  A-propos  en  un  acte,  sl  dramatic  composi- 
tion in  one  act,  and  merely  says  that  it  was  given 
at  Rouen  in  1890. 

La  Fille  de  Durante  {The  Daughter  of  Durante, 
1890),  a  melodrama  in  five  acts  with  complicated 
plot,  was  also  brought  out  at  the  Theatre  Frangais 
in  Rouen.  Brieux  took  the  plot  from  the  judicial 
annals  of  Normandy.  ^  It  is  the  story  of  a  brigand 
with  a  daughter,  who  has  been  substituted  for 
the  child  of  a  well-to-do  citizen  of  Rouen  and  who 
is  always  protected  by  her  father.  He  never  dis- 
closes to  her  the  secret  of  her  birth  till  he  has 
rescued  her  from  a  robber's  cave  in  which  various 
romantic  adventures  have  placed  her.  But  in 
the  end  the  bandit  father  is  executed  and  the  girl 
restored  as  the  daughter  of  the  citizen  of  Rouen. 

"This  work,"  says  M.  Perree,  "had  only  a  suc- 
cess of  curiosity.  The  incursion  into  the  domain 
of  history    dem^onstrated  to   M.  Brieux  that  he 

'  E.  Perree,  "Brieux  et  le  'Nouvelliste  de  Rouen,'"  Journal 
des  Debats,  May  13,  19 10. 

^  The  title  evidently  has  reference  to  Corneille's  country 
estate  near  Rouen. 

3  Vol.  iv,  p.  356.  4  E.  Perree,  ref.  quoted. 


Brieux's  Minor  Plays  25 

was  on  the  wrong  road.  He  understood  this  and 
henceforth  consecrated  himself  to  social  themes."' 
Indeed,  one  would  never  suspect  that  Brieux  had 
written  this  melodrama,  or  even  that  he  could 
take  interest  in  such  a  theme. 

Fifijte  and  Le  Soldat  Graiiidor,  of  the  middle 
nineties,  are  scarcely  more  than  variant  episodes 
from  La  Coiwee,^  one  act  of  which  was  later  (1898) 
printed  separately  under  the  title  of  VEcole  des 
Belles-Meres  {A  School  for  Motliers-in-Law) .  Le 
Soldat  Gramdor  (Graindorj  the  Soldier)  was  played 
at  Marseilles. 

La  Rose  Bleue  {The  Blue  Rose),  first  represented 
at  the  Grand  Theatre  of  Geneva,  in  1895,  possesses, 
more  than  most  of  these  minor  plays,  the  qualities 
which  have  given  Brieux  his  fame.  It  is  a  charm- 
ing one-act  comedy  centring  in  the  caprices  of 
Juliette,  a  tomboy  of  nine  brought  up  by  her  god- 
father (really  her  father),  a  count  separated  from 
his  wife  and  living  a  retired  life  far  from  Paris. 
Since  their  separation,  which  was  due  to  marital 
infidelity,  the  Count  has  devoted  himself  to  the 
culture  of  roses,  in  the  hope  of  producing  the 
"blue  rose."  This  Rose,  which  symbolizes  his 
happiness,  is  Juliette  herself.  The  Countess, 
who  attaches  great  importance  to  decorum  and 
savoir-vivre,  comes  from  Paris  to  take  Juliette 
and  place  her  in  a  fashionable  boarding-school. 
But  the  capricious  girl,  after  charming  th§  Countess 
with  her  good  manners,  begins  to  use  the  most 
*  Ibid.       =  For  summary  of  La  Couvee,  see  Chapter  V,  p.  120  ff. 


26        Brieux  and  French  Society 

shocking  slang  when  she  learns  the  object  of  the 
Countess's  visit,  because  she  wants  to  stay  in  the 
country  with  her  parrain.  The  Count  readily 
consents  to  this,  for  without  Juliette  life  would 
be  intolerable  to  him. 

Although  the  Count  and  Countess  are  somewhat 
artificial,  the  portraits  of  the  tomboy  and  of  the 
Count's  young  gardener,  an  ingenu  cry-baby  with 
just  enough  stupidity,  are  very  well  done. 

M.  de  Rehoval  (1892),  a  comedy  in  four  acts, 
was  first  represented  at  the  Odeon  Theatre.  Its 
unity  is  marred  by  a  pessimistic  tendency  of  the 
last  two  acts,  for  Brieux  was  still  a  bit  obsessed 
by  the  philosophy  in  vogue  at  the  Theatre  Libre. 
He  has  never  consented  to  publish  the  piece.  It 
is  a  satire  on  the  conventionality  of  the  bourgeois, 
his  vie  de  fagade,  his  pompous  conception  of  duty, 
morality,  and  the  basis  of  society,  his  conviction 
of  having  done  his  full  duty — and  even  twice  his 
duty — if  only  he  saves  appearances.  ^  The  theme 
is  developed  by  presenting  the  double  life  of  M. 
de  Reboval,  a  grave,  pompous,  correct  senator, 
who  tries  to  divide  his  time,  affections,  and  in- 
come impartially  between  his  two  households — one 
presided  over  by  his  wife  with  their  daughter; 
the  other  by  his  mistress  with  their  son.  After 
the  son  and  daughter  fall  in  love  and  wish  to  marry, 
Reboval  is  obliged  to  confess  the  wrong  he  has 

*  Brieux  attacks  this  Pharisaic  serenity  of  conscience  in  several 
subsequent  plays,  particularly  Les  Trots  Filles  de  M.  Dupont, 
Les  RemplaganteSf  and  Suzette. 


Brieux's  Conception  of  the  Drama    27 

done  them  and  to  beg  them  humbly  for  pardon. 
Brieux  evidently  hopes  that  henceforth  the  Senator 
will  have  a  clearer,  though  more  prosaic,  con- 
ception of  morality  and  his  obligations  to  society. 
A  secondary  theme  of  the  play  concerns  itself 
with  the  child's  lot  in  case  of  a  liaison — one  phase 
of  a  question  that  constantly  haunts  Brieux's 
mind. ' 

A  comparison  of  Brieux's  early  efforts,  as  seen 
from  these  brief  summaries,  with  his  later  works 
will  show  that  his  evolution  bears  evidence  of 
good  judgment.  After  a  certain  amount  of  un- 
avoidable groping  and  casting  about,  he  returned 
to  his  early  ;  apostolical  inclinations,  which  had 
now  assumed  a  social  form.  He  realized  that  his 
forte  was  the  treatment  of  social  problems. 
Stenio  and  La  Fille  de  Dtirame  had  demonstrated 
his  lack  of  talent  for  the  romantic  and  the  fantastic, 
while  Menages  d' Artistes,  Blanchette,  M.  de  Reho- 
vat,  La  Cotcvee,  and  its  unpretentious  variants, 
Fifine  and  Le  Soldat  Gramdor,  indicated  ability 
in  themes  of  actuality.  This  encouraged  him  to 
look  about  him  and  towards  the  future,  instead 
of  seeking  subjects  in  the  past.    La  Rose  Bleue 

*  Brieux  at  first  called  this  play  Monsieur  le  Senateur,  then 
Les  Enfants  Justiciers.  It  is  a  variant  of  an  old  theme  treated 
by  Augier  {Les  Fourchambault,  1878),  and  by  Albert  Delpit  (Les 
Maucroix,  1883).  The  Marquis  de  Alaucroix  richly  deserves 
our  contempt  and  our  pity.  His  double  household  is  about  to 
result  in  a  terrible  tragedy,  inasmuch  as  both  his  legitimate  son 
and  his  illegitimate  son  quarrel  over  a  senator's  daughter. 
But  thanks  to  a  couple  of  unexpected  turns,  the  storm  passes. 


2S        Bricux  and  French  Society 

made  it  clear  that  in  attempting  to  portray  the 
old  aristocracy  he  had  taken  a  path  which  was  not 
likely  to  lead  to  his  goal.  In  Bernard  Palissy, 
his  only  attempt  at  drama  in  verse,  it  was  the 
patriotic  and  moral  lesson  in  the  achievements 
of  Palissy  that  appealed  to  him, — a  theme  taken 
up  again  in  La  FrauQaise.  The  novel,  it  would 
seem,  failed  to  satisfy  his  desire  for  dramatic 
action  and  didactic  expression. 
%  In  1896,  then,  the  year  that  marks  Brieux's 
transition  from  his  first  period  of  composition  to 
his  second  and  on  the  whole  more  serious  period, 
he  could  no  longer  feel  any  doubt.  He  owed  it 
to  himself  to  cast  his  lot  permanently  with  the 
prose  drama  in  one  form  or  another — whether  the 
comedy  of  manners,  the  problem  play,  the  thesis 
play,  or,  as  M.  de  Segur  puts  it,  the  useful  play. ' 
This  was  not  only  the  literary  form  in  which  he  ex- 
celled, but  also  the  one  best  adapted  to  his  purpose. 
And  Brieux  has  never  denied  that  he  has  a 
purpose — or  even  a  mission,  if  you  prefer  the 
term.  In  so  far,  he  is  the  direct  heir  of  Dumas 
jils,  who  maintained  that  all  literature  which  does 
not  aim  at  perfectibility,  morality,  and  utility, 

^  It  Is  thus  that  he  designates  the  type  of  play  preferred  by 
Brieux.  {Disc,  de  Repojise.)  The  useful  play,  though  seemingly 
the  same  thing  as  the  problem  play  and  the  thesis  play,  may  be 
said  to  differ  from  them  in  that  Brieux's  desire  to  render  service 
to  mankind  leads  him  to  undertake  the  dramatization  of  difficult 
subjects  like  Les  AvarieSy  and  Les  Remplagantes.  In  short,  the 
useful  play  emphasizes  social  utility  still  more  than  do  the 
other  dramatic  forms. 


Brieux's  Conception  of  the  Drama    29 

is  stunted  and  moribund.  ^  He  has  faith  in  man- 
kind. He  believes  that  evil  and  suffering  and 
misery  exist  in  the  world,  not  so  much  because 
people  so  will  it,  but  rather  because  they  fail  to 
realize  their  share  of  responsibility.  He  would 
appeal  to  the  heart  and  inspire  men  with  a  desire 
to  stand  by  good  government,  uphold  clean  morals, 
and  disseminate  wholesome  hygienic  truths.  He 
would  move  the  masses,  awaken  their  sense  of 
conscience,  make  them  see  the  gravity  of  evil  and 
its  consequences.  ^  * '  Each  of  Brieux's  plays, ' '  says 
Mr.  Lawrence  Irving,  "shows  that  the  miseries 
in  it  are  the  consequences  of  some  particular  mal- 
practice of  men  and  therefore  that  the  remedy 
lies  in  a  reform  of  the  practice."^  Brieux  frankly 
admits  that  with  every  one  of  his  plays  he  has 
tried  to  do  some  good,  to  make  people  better  and 
wiser.  "*     He  writes  plays  with  the  purpose  not 

^  Dumas  believed  that  the  dramatist  should  discuss  on  the 
stage  the  fundamental  questions  of  society:  marriage,  the  family, 
adultery,  prostitution,  religion,  atheism,  law,  justice,  the  na- 
tionalities, and  races.  For  a  time  these  ideas  were  classed  with 
Dumas's  paradoxes;  but  the  paradoxes  of  the  past  may  be  the 
current  truths  of  the  future. 

^  Comte  believed  that  men  could  be  reformed  by  legislation ; 
that  our  vices  are  due  largely  to  defective  laws.     Brieux  accepts 
this  idea  in  principle,  only,  the  laws  must  be   supported  by 
public  sentiment. 
■    3  Forwn,  June,  1910. 

4  "The  dramatist  is  in  direct  communication  with  the  masses. 
He  has  at  his  disposal  those  whose  imagination  he  can  captivate 
and  whose  sensibility  he  can  touch.  Should  he  not  make  this 
incomparable  power  further  what  he  regards  as  the  true  and  the 
good?"     R.  Doumic,  Deux  Mondes,  Jan.  15,  1896. 


>( 


30        Brieux  and  French  Society^ 

only  of  making  people  think,  but  also,  and  more 
particularly,  of  making  them  act.  To  quote  his 
own  words:  "Humanity  is  perfectible,  the  world 
is  improving,  and  we  may  as  well  do  all  we  can 
to  hasten  that  evolution,  which  nothing  can  pre- 
vent or  stop." '  And  so,  convinced  that  the  drama 
makes  a  more  powerful  appeal  than  any  other 
literary  form,  Brieux  uses  it  in  the  hope  of  reaching 
primarily  the  deep  hidden  strata  of  society,  and 
not  merely  the  limited  few  who  read  books.  ^ 

'  "Interview,"  Daily  Mail,  Paris  edition,  Aug.  24,  1909. 

'  Similar  is  the  attitude  of  Edouard  Rod,  who  asks  what  it 
avails  to  have  discovered  the  good  if  we  do  not  make  use  of  it. 
Hence  it  follows,  he  argues,  that  we  cannot  be  happy — not  even 
at  ease — unless  we  practice  the  principles  whose  truth  we  have 
recognized.     Idees  Morales  du  Temps  Present. 


CHAPTER  III 

ARTISTS    ACCORDING    TO    RECENT    FRENCH 
LITERATURE 

Menages  d^ Artistes  (Brieux) — Cahotins  (Pail- 
leron) — Paraitre  (Donnay) — Un  Rate  (Gyp) — La 
Camaraderie  (Scribe) — Charles  Demailly  (Gon- 
court) — La  Femme  d'Henri  Vanneau  (Rod) — Le 
Bercail  (Bernstein) — La  Femme  Nue  (Bataille). 

IT  is  both  logical  and  fitting  that  the  discussion 
of  Brieux's  serious  plays  should  begin  with 
Menages  d' Artistes.  As  we  have  seen,  ^  without  the 
production  of  this  play  at  the  Theatre  Libre  on 
March  21,  1890,  his  dramatic  talent  might  never 
have  been  revealed  to  the  public.  Moreover, 
inasmuch  as  our  documentary  method  of  criticism 
will  necessitate  the  consideration  of  numerous 
authors,  it  is  well  at  the  outset  to  examine  certain 
salient  traits  of  literary  men,  at  least  traits  attri- 
buted to  literary  men  by  critics  and  others  of  their 
confreres.  In  Menages  d' Artistes  {Artists'  House- 
holds), Brieux  treats  particularly  the  weaknesses 
of  such  men  and  of  other  artists,  a  theme  which 
always  has  furnished  authors  with  material,  and 
probably  always  will. 

^  Chapter  I,  p.  10. 

31 


32         Brieux  and  French  Society 

It  is  significant  that  Renan,  after  declaring  with 
pompous  enthusiasm  that  the  domain  of  letters 
is  the  Olympus  on  whose  serene  heights  all  struggles 
and  inequalities  cease,  where  all  differences  are 
reconciled — ''Peace  has  its  abode  only  on  high" — 
should  be  obliged  to  admit,  in  the  same  discourse, 

,  that  literary  men  are  very  severe  toward  one 
another.  They  anathematize  one  another,  he 
goes  on  to  say,  when  often  on  both  sides  it  is  a 
case  of  merit  insulting  merit,  of  truth  reviling 
truth.  ^  Indeed,  if  we  are  to  believe  that  compe- 
tent critic,  Robert  de  Flers,  whose  raillery  contains 
more  truth  than  fiction,  authors  have  always  been 
much  given  to  waging  war  upon  one  another. 
When  together,  it  is  true,  they  regard  themselves 
as  brothers,  though  rather  as  hostile  brothers. 
Being  for  the  most  part  people  of  culture,  and 

,  hence  desirous  of  avoiding  scandal,  they  bestow 
profuse  marks  of  mutual  esteem  in  public,  in  order 
to  maintain  an  appearance  of  ideal  comradeship. 
But  such  civilities  may  be  only  a  veneer  to  conceal 
disdain,  jealousy,  and  envy.''  Alfred  Capus  as- 
serts that  there  are  literary  salons  whose  members 
direct  all  their  activity  towards  the  destruction 
of  the  reputation  of  the  writers  and  artists  belong- 
ing to  any  other  coterie.  ^ 

'  Discours  de  Reception,  1879. 

^Pref.  to  Stoullig's  Annales  (191 1).  Victor  Hugo  says  some- 
where: "Les  haines  politiques  desarment,  les  haincs  litteraires, 
jamais." 

3  Figaro,  Aug.  19,  1912. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  33 

This  tragic  duality  in  the  Hves  of  authors  is 
due  to  egotism  and  vanity,  which  make  us  exceed- 
ingly susceptible  toward  our  competitors  and 
rivals.  We  care  little  about  the  superior  talent 
of  those  in  another  social  class,  or  of  a  different 
profession;  but  we  are  reluctant  to  admit  the 
superiority  of  a  confrere.  Artists  of  all  kinds 
are  especially  prone  to  this  failing,  owing  to  the 
personal  character  of  art,  and  hence  the  difHculty 
of  estimating  its  value.  Thus  it  happens  that  a 
man  of  letters,  while  viev/ing  his  own  creations 
through  a  powerful  magnifying  lens,  may  see  the 
works  of  his  fellovv^s  from  a  very  different  per- 
spective. Each  author  considers  himself  the  centre 
of  the  universe.  ^  Or  as  Anatole  France  expresses 
it,  a  literary  man  is  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
world  will  end  with  him.  He  fancies  that  he  pos- 
sesses exclusively  all  the  secrets  of  his  craft.  ^  If 
requested  to  discuss  dramatic  art,  a  playwright 
thinks  only  of  his  particular  conception,  taking 
for  granted  that  the  real  drama,  the  drama  of  the 
future,  is  what  he  is  producing,  or  intends  to 
produce.  2  We  see  an  illustration  of  this  in  the 
case  of  Fontenelle  who,  in  his  Discours  sur  VEglogiie, 
shows  his  superiority  over  Theocritus  and  Vergil.  ^ 
Or,   to  take  a  contemporary  example,   Bernard 

'  J.  Ernest-Charles,  Rev.  Bletie,  Jan.  6,  1905. 
'  Vie  litter.,  ii,  p.  ix. 

3  A.  Capus,  Prcf.  to  Stoullig's  Annales  (1903). 

4  All  his  life  Piron  sincerely  believed  that  he  was  Voltaire's 
superior. 

3 


34.        Brieux  and  French  Society 

Shaw  "cuts  off  another  dog's  tail  every  morning."' 
Geniuses  and  masterpieces  have  never  been  so 
numerous  as  they  are  today.  ^ 

Artists  themselves  are  not  wholly  responsible 
for  this  impression.  One  gets  a  similar  impression 
from  the  press,  which,  in  its  efforts  to  promote 
"literary  industry,"  has  put  literary  success 
upon  a  commercial  basis,  ^  so  that  almost  anybody, 
it  would  seem,  can  acquire  genius  by  paying  the 
price.  "*  As  long  ago  as  1839,  Sainte-Beuve  de- 
clared that  "industrial  literature"  had  crowded 
out  and  almost  completely  replaced  literary 
criticism.  ^  Even  earlier,  Balzac,  in  Le  Charlatan- 
isme,  satirized  the  use  of  the  press  as  a  medium 
for  promoting  literary  fame.  ^  But  the  author  of 
The  Human  Comedy  did  not  foresee  the  gigantic 
proportions  of  the  debauches  de  puhlicite  denounced 
by  J.  Ernest-Charles,  who  asserts  that  one  of 
Lucien  Muhlfeld's  novels  occupies  more  critical 
and  advertising  space  than  ten  volumes  by  famous 
authors.  "^  A  character  in  a  recent  drama  declares : 
"At  thirty  I  shall  be  famous,  decorated,  and  ready 

'  A.  Filon,  Deux  Mondes,  Nov.  15,  1905. 
^  A.  Capus,  Figaro,  Jan.  29,  1912. 

3  A.  Capus,  Mociirs  du  Temps,  i,  13. 

4  A.  Seche,  Le  Desarroi  de  la  Consc.  fr,,  p.  10. 
s  "  De  la  Litt.  industrielle." 

^  1825.  In  Illusions  Perdues  (1837),  we  can  see  "literary 
industry"  manifesting  itself  in  the  form  of  mutually  stimulated 
bombast,  the  conspiracy  of  coteries,  and  the  tyranny  of  literary 
criticism.  Compare,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  Les  Prdneurs, 
by  Claude  Dorat. 

7  "La  Litt.  industrielle,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Nov.  8,  1902. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  35 

for  the  Academy.  .  .  .  Every  day  several  jour- 
nals, if  not  all,  mention  me.  The  occasion  matters 
little.  My  name  is  making  an  impression  by  dint 
of  sheer  repetition.  I  am  advancing;  I  am  ap- 
proaching the  goal.     I  am  now  sure  of  arriving.'*^ 

The  same  abuse  is  satirized  by  Paul  Brulat,  in 
La  Faiseuse  de  Gloire  (1901),  by  which  he  means 
the  press.  His  hero,  a  talented  journalist  with 
high  ideals,  determined  to  follow  the  dictates  of 
his  conscience,  is  frowned  upon  by  his  editor-in- 
chief  and  shunned  by  his  fellow-journalists,  who 
fear  to  be  compromised  by  the  daring  independence 
of  his  articles.  Finally  poverty  and  the  irony 
of  fate  compel  the  poor  fellow  to  compose  his 
articles  in  the  spirit  demanded  by  the  man  he  de- 
spises, who  signs  them  as  his  own  and  allows  the  real 
author  one  tenth  of  the  money  received  for  them. 

Another  essential  trait  of  the  nineteenth-cen- 
tury artist  is  his  anti-bourgeois  affectation.  Rene 
Doumic's  recent  remark,  "The  drama  is  pretty 
hard  on  the  bourgeois  in  this  year  of  grace,  1914,"  ^ 
would  apply  to  any  year  since  1830.  Before  the 
beginning  of  romanticism,  poets  and  artists  did 
not  concern  themselves  with  the  bourgeois,  but 
worked  for  the  amateur,  the  connoisseur,  the  edu- 
cated, and  the  nobility.  The  theory  of  art  for 
art's  sake  originated  at  the  time  of  the  rise  of 
democracy,  when  the  artist  sought  a  retreat,  far 
from  the  mediocrity  of  le  bourgeois  imbecile,  in 

^  L.  Gleize,  Le  Veau  d'Or  (19 13). 
'  Deux  MondeSy  Mar,  15,  19 14. 


36        Brieux  and  French  Society 

his  ivory  tower,  where  he  might  work  for  himself 
and  a  few  select  of  his  kind.^  The  romantic 
theory  of  genius  divided  mankind  into  two  irre- 
conciliable  families :  the  one,  quite  small  and  sub- 
lime, the  family  of  the  artists ;  the  other,  immense, 
odious,  ridiculous,  and  contemptible,  the  family 
of  the  bourgeois.^  But  this  was  only  a  "mode." 
Lamartine,  Hugo,  Musset,  Sainte-Beuve,  and 
George  Sand  soon  resumed  the  bourgeois  life 
that  they  had  for  a  time  ridiculed.  Balzac  and 
Berlioz  almost  alone  refused  to  disarm;  nobody 
except  the  "artist"  enioyed  their  full  esteem. •^ 
Of  his  two  thousand  literary  creotions,  Balzac 
prefers  even  the  prostitute  and  the  outlaw  to  the 
bourgeois.'*  We  see  this  attitude  in  Pierre  Gras- 
sou  (1839).  Everything  about  Pierre  indicated 
mediocrity.  Yet  thanks  to  his  regular  habits  and 
his  bourgeois  economy,  he  produced  one  painting 
after  another,  all  of  v/hich  he  sold  at  a  fair  profit. 
This  sorry  artist  was  a  model  citizen :  he  performed 

^  A.  Seche,  Le  Desarroi  de  la  Consc.  fr.,  p.  41. 

^  A.  Le  Breton,  Balzac,  p.  22.  "C'est  ccrtainement  de  son 
horreur  pour  le  bourgeois  qu'est  ne  chez  Flaubert  le  gout  de  le 
pcindrc.  II  a  voulu  assouvir  sa  haine  en  montrant  son  ennemi  per- 
sonnel dans  toute  sa  laideur."  E.  Faguet,  Rev.  Bleue,  Jan.  25,1896. 

3  Gautier's  noisy  anti-bourgeois  pranks  must  not  be  taken  too 
se^iousl3^ 

4  A.  Le  Breton,  Balzac,  p.  241.  The  affectation  of  Balzac's 
social  snobbery  is  evident  from  a  description  of  his  personality. 
According  to  Emile  Faguet, "  ses  manieres  etaicnt  lourdes,  brusques 
et  sans  grace,  son  ajustement  a  la  fois  prdtentieux  et  n^glig6. 
Tout  ce  qu'on  appelle  distinction  lul  ^tait  absolument  Stranger. 
...  II  6ta.it  peuple  dans  le  mauvais  et  aussi  dans  le  bon  sens 
du  mot,  de  la  t^te  aux  pieds."     Balzac,  p.  22. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  37 

guard  duty,  attended  military  reviews,  and  paid  his 
bills  with  the  most  scrupulous  bourgeois  regularity. 
One  day  Vervelle,  a  patron  of  Pierre's  who  had  made 
his  fortune  in  the  bottle  industry,  invited  him  to 
his  country  estate,  where  he  showed  him  his  private 
gallery  of  Rembrandts,  Rubenses,  Murillos,  etc. 
To  Pierre's  amazement,  he  discovered  that  these 
masterpieces  were  all  his  own  productions.  Only, 
the  former  bottle-dealer  had  paid  the  Jewish  art  col- 
lector many  times  as  much  for  them  as  Pierre  had 
received.  It  goes  without  saying  that  Pierre  mar- 
ries Vervelle's  daughter  and  becomes  an  artist  of 
genius  according  to  general  bourgeois  opinion. 

Despite  the  early  reaction  in  favour  of  bourgeois 
standards  of  the  writers  just  mentioned,  men  of 
letters  have  continued  to  be  obsessed  by  the 
theory  of  romanticism. 

When  one  sells  groceries  [says  J.  R.  Bloch  satiri- 
cally] one  is  a  grocer;  when  one  dresses  stone,  one  is 
a  stone  dresser;  he  who  writes  political  articles  is  a 
politician.  But  when  one  devotes  one's  self  to  a 
certain  number  of  oral  or  written  things  without 
importance  to  anyone  and  quite  devoid  of  public  or 
private  consequences,  then  one  is  ...  an  artist.^ 

It  may  be  said  that  the  only  characteristic 
common  to  French  writers  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, with  a  few  exceptions,^  is  their  contempt 
for  the  bourgeois.     We  hear  a  great  deal  about 

»  "Art  et  Politique,"  Effort  Libre,  Mar.,  1912. 
'  Scribe,  Augier,  Pailleron,  Ohnet. 


38         Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  literary  pendulum  and  its  laws  of  contrast, 
according  to  which  each  new  school  disavows  its 
predecessor  and  turns  in  a  different  direction; 
but  no  new  school  is  willing  to  dispense  with  its 
favourite  target — the  bourgeois.'  Yet  nothing 
could  be  more  inconsistent,  or  at  least  more  un- 
natural, than  this  literary  consistency;  for  these 
writers — all  of  them — are  bourgeois,  even  bour- 
geois "bourgeoisonnant."  One  does  not  see 
how  such  a  literary  anachronism  can  still  persist, 
in  view  of  Paul  Flat's  assertion  that  ''at  the  pre- 
sent time  men  of  letters  and  artists  are  perfect 
bourgeois  with  the  most  regular  habits."^  The 
same  critic  says  elsewhere : 

What  has  become  of  our  mothers'  conception  of 
the  man  of  letters — that  Murgerism  which,  as  a 
synonym  of  irregular  habits  and  dissipation,  caused 
them  such  fear?  Nowadays  we  form  and  inculcate 
in  our  children  quite  a  different  idea  of  literary  life. 
At  a  time  when  all  bourgeois  take  pride  in  being 
artists,  it  is  natural  that  the  artists  should  exchange 
courtesies  with  them.  ^ 

^  Claudine,  speaking  of  Vetheull,  says  to  the  Count:  "I  don't 
believe  him  capable  of  committing  a  caddish  deed,"  to  which 
the  Count  remarks:  "That's  the  finest  praise  you  can  give  a 
man  nowadays."     M.  Donnay,  Amants,  i,  lO. 

'Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  31,  1904. 

3  Nos  Femmes  de  Lettres  (1912),  p.  103.  Alfred  Capus  points 
out  that  dramatic  authors  are  no  longer  young  declasses  who  have 
been  expelled  from  the  regular  professions  for  lack  of  financial 
means,  but  young  bourgeois,  who  prepare  themselves  early  in 
life  for  journalism  and  dramatic  work.  "Le  Monde  des  Artistes," 
Figaro,  Feb.  19,  1912. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature 

Given,  then,  the  artist's  traditional  egotism 
and  vanity,  his  susceptibility  and  jealousy,  his 
claim  of  superiority  and  exclusiveness,  his  convic- 
tion, no  matter  how  bourgeois  he  be,  that  he  be- 
longs to  a  select  class  endowed  with  the  flame  of 
genius, — how  will  these  traits  affect  him  as  a 
member  of  society?  What  influence  will  they 
have  upon  his  congeniality  and  his  home  life? 
While  numerous  other  authors  have  dealt  with 
the  foibles  and  weaknesses  of  artists,  it  is  signifi- 
cant that  the  author  of  Menages  d' Artistes  almost 
alone  considers  these  with  reference  to  the  artist's 
family  life.  So  here  in  this  three-act  comedy 
produced  in  1890  by  Antoine  at  the  Theatre  Libre, 
we  see  at  the  very  beginning  of  Brieux's  serious 
dramatic  work,  one  of  his  fundamental  traits. 
His  concern  about  the  integrity  of  the  family, 
in  the  interests  of  the  child,  forms  the  fulcrum 
of  his  social  system.  In  Menages  d' Artistes 
appears  the  guiding  principle  of  his  later  plays. 
Henceforth,  whatever  be  the  social  problem  under 
consideration,  he  looks  at  it  largely  in  its  relation 
to  the  welfare  of  the  future  generation. 

In  the  opening  scene  of  the  play,  Jacques  Ter- 
vaux  is  reading  his  poetry,  Les  Flavescences,  to 
select  friends  and  admirers.  His  wife,  Louise,  a 
woman  without  literary  pretensions,  explains  to 
her  mother,  Mme.  Legrand,  that  one  of  the  guests, 
Mile.  Vernier,  is  a  wealthy  orphan  whom  she 
knew  at  boarding-school.  Mme.  Legrand,  a 
sturdy,  outspoken  woman  from  the  "provinces," 


40        Brieux  and  French  Society 

discovers  that,  after  running  through  Louise's 
dowry,  Jacques  is  Hving  from  the  allowance  which 
she  grants  her  daughter.  But  an  artist's  duty, 
Louise  declares,  is  to  persevere:  her  husband  can- 
not fail  to  become  famous  some  day. 

In  the  admirers  who  surround  Tervaux,  Brieux 
has  painted  a  gallery  of  portraits  worthy  of  Pail- 
leron.  There  is  Pingoux,  the  brilliant  reporter  of 
VEtoile  des  Arts,  an  organ  of  the  music-halls. 
There  is  the  flatterer  Tombelain,  a  young  fop 
who  flits  about  repeating  his  laudatory  formula  in 
praise  of  Les  Flavescences:  "Hugo?  a  microbe  in 
comparison!"  Then  there  is  Divoire,  who  calls 
Tervaux' s  masterpiece  a  sensational  rejuvenation 
of  Baudelaire's  Les  Fleurs  du  Mai,  and  Mme. 
Divoire,  v/ho,  while  her  children  are  crying  for 
bread,  thinks  that  an  artist  requires  a  life  of 
nervous  excitation,  without  which  inspiration  will 
not  come.  Davenay,  on  the  other  hand,  makes 
himself  conspicuous  by  putting  Les  Flavescences 
only  in  a  class  with  La  Legende  des  Siecles.  An- 
other less  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Tervaux  is 
d'Estombreuse,  who  as  leader  of  the  synthetic 
movement  naturally  thinks  that  only  a  synthesist 
can  produce  a  great  literary  work;  hence  his 
reserves  regarding  Les  Flavcsce^ices.  Alexandre 
Veule,  too,  an  exponent  of  the  Tri-u7nonisme 
Sirupescejtt  theory  of  poetry,  who  says  that  every 
idea,  every  person,  every  object,  possesses  a  colour 
and  a  musical  tonality,  has  his  reservations. 
According  to  his  jugglery  of  words,  Tri-unionisme 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  41 

Sirupescent  resembles  synthesism,  but  is  still 
more  vague. 

Veule  is  surprised  to  find  in  "mademoiselle" 
Vernier  his  former  wife.  She  absorbs  Tervaux's 
entire  attention,  and  in  congratulating  him,  she 
says  that  France  possesses  one  more  great  poet. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  in  private  Jacques's 
other  admirers  tell  a  different  story:  ".  .  .  Be- 
tween you  and  me,  Tervaux's  poetry  is  thin 
stuff,"  etc.^  Mme.  Legrand,  who  pretends  no 
more  than  her  daughter  to  understand  poetry, 
wants  Jacques  to  accept  a  commercial  position, 
but  he  speaks  of  the  artist's  sacred  mission,  of 
the  poetic  flame  that  he  feels  within  him.  With 
the  spicy  pot-au-feu  philosophy  of  certain  of 
Moliere's  characters,  Mme.  Legrand  always  has 
the  laugh  on  her  side. 

In  Act  II,  troubles  press  on  Mme.  Tervaux. 
She  has  to  confess  to  her  mother  that  they  owe  a 
year's  rent  and  will  soon  be  turned  into  the  street ; 
she  becomes  convinced  that  her  husband  has  a 
liaison  with  "mademoiselle"  Vernier,  her  school 
friend,  Emma,  but  on  account  of  her  daughter, 
Gabrielle,  a  girl  of  sixteen,  she  refuses  to  seek  a 
divorce.  Emma  assures  Louise,  in  the  name  of 
their  former  friendship,  that  she  is  not  Tervaux's 
mistress,   and  when  he  proposes  an  elopement, 

*  Cf.  Histoire  Com.  de  Francion  (Book  V),  where  the  hero  says 
of  his  confreres:  "When  I  read  my  poetry  to  them,  they  declared 
it  perfect,  but  behind  my  back  they  attacked  it  fiercely.  Each 
assumed  this  same  attitude  toward  all  the  others." 


42         Brieux  and  French  Society 

she  advises  him  to  stay  with  his  family.  From 
personal  experience  she  knows  that  the  wives  of 
most  artists  are  to  be  pitied.  For  when  a  young 
woman  thirsting  for  ideals,  dreaming  of  poetry 
and  romantic  love,  she  married  the  so-called  poet, 
Alexandre  Veule.  But  his  poetry  existed  only  in 
his  imagination.  Neglected  by  him  for  low  women, 
Emma  took  another  companion,  a  business  man, 
who  has  just  left  her  a  considerable  sum  of  money. 
Jacques  now  apologizes  to  his  wife,  and  Louise 
rushes  into  his  arms  with  sobs.  Here  the  play 
might  have  ended,  had  it  not  been  for  Mme. 
Legrand,  who  "cleans  house,"  sending  the  unwel- 
come visitor's  belongings  down  into  the  street. 
Jacques  protests  and  elopes  with  Emma. 

Act  III  takes  place  in  the  office  of  the  Journal 
des  Poetes  Mondains,  a  publication  founded  by 
Emma.  Jacques  is  editor-in-chief.  Most  of  the 
admirers  of  Act  I  are  consecrating  their  talent 
to  the  Journal,  though  the  ironical  tone  of  their 
conversation  indicates  their  opinion  of  "Madame" 
and  her  editor.  Di voire' s  family  has  sunk  to  ab- 
ject poverty  because,  discouraged  by  his  literary 
failures,  the  husband  has  become  a  drunkard. 
Jacques's  financial  situation,  likewise,  is  desperate, 
yet  he  refuses  to  return  to  his  family,  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  too  late.  His  sole  hope  of  obtaining 
financial  aid  is  Emma.  But  the  irony  with  which 
she  replies  to  his  appeals  only  exasperates  him: 
"  Un  poete,  toil  Tu  ?i'es  qii^un  arrangeur  de  mots. 
Un  homme  de  talent ,  toil     Tu  n'es  gu'un  rate!'* 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  43 

She  takes  her  jewelry  and  flees  with  her  former 
husband,  who  has  abandoned  "poetry."^ 

Deserted  by  his  companion,  abandoned  by 
collaborators  and  employes,  and  unwilling  to  go 
back  to  his  wife  and  daughter,  the  once  famous 
author  of  Les  Flavescences  commits  suicide  by 
throwing  himself  under  a  street  car. 

The  denouement  is  the  weak  point  of  the  play; 
it  is  illogical  and  unnatural.  Except  in  rare  cases, 
suicide  is  the  last  resource  of  an  author  at  bay. 
Inasmuch  as  Tervaux's  wife,  who  grieved  over  his 
desertion,  was  still  willing  to  pardon  him,  Jacques's 
logical  course  would  have  been  to  return  to  her. 
But  the  pessimism  of  the  time,  and  especially  the 
cynical  comedie  rosse  in  vogue  at  the  Theatre 
Libre,  demanded  an  unhappy  ending.  Evil  al- 
ways seems  nearer  the  truth  than  good.  That  is 
why  the  word  naturalism,  in  its  distorted  meaning, 
was  applied  to  works  which  greatly  mutilated 
nature.^  The  elite  who  constituted  the  Theatre 
Libre  cared  only  for  the  perversity  in  human 
nature.  Their  Renanesque  dilettantism  had  de- 
generated into  Epicurean  skepticism,^  so  that 
nothing  but  a  brutal  conclusion  appealed  to  their 

^  There  is  a  certain  resemblance  between  Emma  Vernier  and 
Dinah  de  la  Baudraj'-e,  Balzac's  heroine  in  La  Muse  du  Departe- 
ment.  Dinah,  called  the  "Queen  of  Sancerre,"  thanks  to  her 
literary  taste,  deserts  her  provincial  home  to  live  in  free  love 
with  a  journalist  in  Paris.  But  at  the  end  of  six  years,  she  is 
glad  to  return  to  her  husband,  who  has  become  a  peer  of  France. 

^G.  Pellissier,  Rev.  Bleue,  May  23,  1896. 

3  R.  Doumic,  Deux  Mondes,  Jan.  15,  1900. 


44        Brieux  and  French  Society 

blunted  literary  sensibility.  Brieux  knew  well 
enough  that  a  concession  to  their  taste  was  neces- 
sary in  the  final  act.  We  cannot  blame  him  for 
making  this  concession;  for  a  dramatist's  first 
necessity,  if  not  his  duty,  is  to  please.  ^  A  dramatic 
work  does  not  really  exist  until  it  is  presented  on 
the  stage,  where  the  author  and  the  audience  can 
collaborate.  And  true  collaboration  is  possible 
only  when  the  audience  is  pleased.  ^ 

But  even  were  the  play  more  faulty  in  its  art, 
it  would  still  be  interesting  for  its  theme.  This 
is  indicated  in  the  dispute  between  Tervaux  and 
Mme.  Legrand: 

Jacques:  Either  a  man  is  a  poet  or  he  is  not. 

Mme.  Legrand:  But  what  if  he  thinks  he  is  one 
when  he  is  not?  Has  he  the  right  to  make  his  wife 
suffer?     Has  he  the  right  to  ruin  his  children? 

To  present  this  truth,  it  was  necessary  only  to 
show  that  certain  "artists"  are  mere  failures 
{rates)  or  vain  poseurs  {cabotins)J  Brieux  makes 
clear  the  hardships  of  family  life  patiently  en- 
dured by  their  victims.  He  ridicules  the  chari- 
table theory  that  "an  artist  is  a  big  child,"  and 
satirizes  the  plea  that  dissipation  is  necessary  for 
poetic  inspiration.     In  doing  so  he  probably  is 

^  R.  Doumic,  ihid.y  Jan.  15,  1896. 

^  Brunetiere  regarded  this  necessity  of  pleasing  as  the  drama- 
tist's pitfall.     Manuel,  p.  519. 

3  In  La  Deserteuse,  Brieux's  composer,  whom  the  provincials 
flatteringly  call  "matlre,''  is  both  a  rate  and  a  cahotin. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  45 

not  attacking  Murger's  well-known  work,  for  the 
author  of  The  Latin  Quarter  claims  only  that  the 
irregular  life  led  by  his  heroes  is  ''a  necessity  that 
life  forces  upon  them."^  Furthermore,  Murger's 
heroes,  essentially  bourgeois  with  only  a  Bohemian 
veneering,  are  too  harmless  to  justify  satire.'' 
Still  Brieux  may  owe  to  Murger's  work — one  of 
the  books,  we  know,  that  as  a  boy  he  pored  over 
under  the  gaslight  on  the  stairway^ — at  least  the 
idea  of  numerous  contemporary  allusions.^  With 
the  terms  tri-unionisme  and  synthetisme,  however, 
he  does  attack  the  symbolists  and  the  decadents. 
Alexandre  Veule's  affected  obscurity  makes  him 
what  La  Bruyere  calls  a  diseiir  de  phebus^  modern- 
ized and  now  the  exponent  of  a  theory.^  He  is 
no  more  fantastic  than  the  poet  of  whom  Anatole 
France  writes: 

I  am  sure  that  the  young  author  of  Le  Traite  dii 
Verbe  is  quite  in  earnest  when,  assigning  to  the  sound 
of  each  vowel  a  characteristic  colour,  he  says:  A  black, 
E  white,  I  red,  U  green,  0  blue.  Unfortunately,  M. 
Ghil  maintains  that  O  is  blue,  and  M.  Rimbaud  as- 
serts that  O  is  red.     And  these  two  charming  patients 

^  Vie  de  Boheme,  ch.  i. 

'  It  is  in  Les  Rcfractaires  (1865),  by  Jules  Valles,  that  we  see 
Bohemian  Hfe  in  its  vivid  reaUty. 

•5  Adrien  Bertrand,  E.  Brieux,  p.  16. 

^  It  is  more  likely,  however,  that  this  feature  is  due  to  Bour- 
get's  Le  Disciple  (1889). 

s  Brieux  probably  has  in  mind  the  symbolist  Charles  Morice, 
who  in  his  Litterature  de  tout  d,  Vheure  (1889),  professes  to  formu- 
late a  "synthetic"  poetry  based  on  dream  and  abstraction. 


46         Brieux  and  French  Society 

dispute  in  the  indulgent  presence   of   M.   Stephana 
Mallarme. ' 

A  few  other  matters  in  Menages  d* Artistes  de- 
serve attention,  because  they  foretell  what  were 
to  be  characteristics  of  either  the  mechanism  or 
the  spirit  of  most  of  Brieux's  dramatic  work. 

y  The  "reasoner,"  or  mouthpiece  of  the  author's 
opinions,  reappears.  This  r61e,  a  favourite  with 
pla3rwrights  of  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  was  strictly  proscribed  by  the  naturalists, 
who  affected  contempt  for  Augier,   Dumas  filst 

-  and  their  immediate  predecessors.  In  the  first 
two  acts,  Mme.  Legrand  is  the  author's  spokes- 
man; then  Dr.  Meilleret  represents  him.  The 
grandmother's  energetic  procedure  at  times  makes 
the  play  verge  on  farce.  Certain  of  her  spicy 
remarks  are  simply  mots  d'auteur  interspersed  in 
the  dialogue  to  keep  the  audience  in  good  humour. 
After  the  failure  of  the  naturalist  drama,  Brieux 
knew  that  theatre-goers  soon  wearied  of  a  too 
sombre  picture  of  life.  Meilleret,  on  the  other 
hand,  raises  the  tone  of  the  play  with  his  dignity 
and  discretion,  notwithstanding  Doumic's  remark 
that  the  first  characteristic  of  a  "reasoner"  is  to 

^  Vie  litter.,  ii,  p.  vi.  'Le  Traite  du  Verhe  is  by  Ren6  Ghil, 
a  disciple  of  Mallarme.  According  to  the  futurist  painters,  who 
have  developed  these  niceties  of  sound  and  colour,  the  sounds  and 
odours  in  railway  stations,  factories,  and  garages  are  red,  while 
in  restaurants,  cafes,  and  parlors  they  are  silvery,  yellow,  violet. 
The  sounds,  noises,  and  odours  of  animals  are  yellow,  blue,_  et,Q^ 
A.  Sdche,  Le  Desarroi  de  la  Consc.  Jr.,  p.  46. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  47 

be  insupportable.'^  Without  much  justification, 
the  same  critic  spoke  some  years  earlier  of  the 
rejection  of  this  role  as  an  accomplished  fact. 
But  Brieux  is  not  the  only  recent  playwright  who 
has  refused  to  discard  this  convenient  creation 
of  his  predecessors.  The  "reasoner"  has  seldom 
had  a  more  prominent  part  than  that  assigned  to 
the  Baron  in  Donnay's  Parattre  (1906).  Like- 
wise, Hervieu,  Lavedan,  and  Capus  have  all 
made  use  of  him. 

Then  Brieux's  treatment  of  Mme.  Tervaux, 
Louise,  is  significant.  At  first  she  thought  her- 
self obliged  to  accept  her  husband's  liaison  with 
"mademoiselle"  Vernier.  But  the  author  sug- 
gests a  decisive  stand.  If  Jacques  refuses  to  mend 
his  ways,  he  will  have  only  himself  to  blame. 
Here  we  see  in  germ  Brieux's  conception  of  woman's 
dignity.  When  right  is  on  her  side,  she  must 
assert  herself.  But  when  she  is  half  to  blame, 
even  though  herself  a  victim  of  circumstances,  as 
we  shall  see  in  the  case  of  Julie,  in  Les  Trots  Filles 
de  M.  Dupont,  then  she  must  make  concessions. 

Another  incident  shows  how  Brieux  understands 
the  spontaneous  bo7tte  du  peiiple.  When  Tervaux's 
collaborators  and  employes  refused  to  lend  Divoire 
a  louis,  one  of  the  ofBce  boys  came  timidly  to 
Divoire's  rescue  with  ten  francs.  The  drama  in 
which  Brieux's  sympathetic  attitude  towards  the 
common  people  has  received  its  most  complete 
expression   is   Resultat   des    Courses.     Here    their 

^  Deux  Mondes,  Sept.  15,  1906. 


48        Brieux  and  French  Society 

generosity  and  naive  bonhomie  constitute  the  best 
feature  of  the  play.  When,  however,  it  is  the 
dramatist's  purpose  to  represent  the  bourgeois 
as  a  dupe,  this  bonhomie  may  assume  the  form 
of  resourceful  peasant  cunning.^ 

A  remarkable  feature  of  Menages  d* Artistes  is 
«  the  absence  of  tirades  against  the  egotism  of  the 
bourgeoisie.  However,  from  the  nature  of  things, 
the  object  of  censure  is  rather  the  absence  of 
bourgeois  qualities.  Here  Brieux  is  in  contrast 
to  Strindberg,  who,  in  his  Red  Room,  a  similar 
theme,  indulges  in  the  bitterest  invectives  against 
the  egotism  and  hypocrisy  of  the  much-abused 
bourgeoisie.  In  this,  as  in  other  respects,  Brieux's 
fair,  broad-minded  attitude  indicated  a  change 
for  the  better  in  the  naturalist  drama. 

Most  important  of  all  is  what  Jules  Lemaitre 
calls,  despite  the  farcical  treatment  of  Mme. 
Legrand  and  some  caricature  of  the  artists,  the 
sincere  and  somewhat  austere  sentiment  of  the 
play.^  Brieux  may  not  have  been  original  in 
introducing  this  sentiment.  A  moral  improve- 
ment was  in  the  air  just  at  this  time,  according 
to  Andre  Maurel,  who  rejoiced  to  think  that 
Renan's  assertion,  "The  theatre  of  today  is  only 
a  substitute  for  the  cabaret,"  would  soon  need 
revision.^  Some  improvement  was  imperatively 
necessary;  for  this  same  year,  Augustin  Filon, 
writing  from  his  retreat  in  England,  and  hence  a 

'  Les  Remplaqantes,  Les  Avaries,  Le  Bourgeois  aux  Champs. 
*  Impressions,  vii,  287.  '  Rev.  Bleue,  May  10,  1890. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  49 

little  behind  the  times,  remarked  that  in  France 
the  novel  had  become  the  sole  literary  genre.  ^ 
With  his  series  of  plays  beginning  with  Alenages 
d' Artistes,  Brieux  has  done  more  than  any  one 
else  to  give  weight  and  dignity  to  contemporary 
French  drama. 

Brieux's  satire  on  artists  is  only  one  of  several 
works  dealing  with  the  same  subject.  In  almost 
every  case  the  author  has  purposely  exaggerated 
and  distorted  reality.  But  beneath  this  caricature 
invariably  lies  a  reason.  A  glance  at  a  few  of 
these  plays  and  novels  will  make  clearer  the 
nature  of  Brieux's  artists. 

Pailleron's  comedy,  Cahotins  {Vain  Poseurs, 
1894),  is  one  of  the  most  humorous  of  such  works. 
The  central  character,  ]M.  de  Laversee,  who  is 
supposed  to  be  writing  a  monumental  work  on 
Murillo,  is  a  "modest  but  thrifty  soul,  who  pumps 
his  guests  and  out  of  their  opinions  makes  obscure 
volumes  on  sesthetics,  in  order  some  day  to  sit  in 
his  late  uncle's  seat  at  the  Institute.'*  He  takes 
under  his  protection  a  sculptor  from  his  uncle's 
electoral  district,  launches  his  political  campaign, 
creates  an  artificial  movement  in  favour  of  his 
candidacy,  and  enters  the  Institute  in  triumph,  if 

^  Rev.  Bletce,  March  i,  1890.  That  Filon's  impression  was 
shared  at  this  time  and  even  later  by  critics  on  the  Continent, 
is  evident  from  the  attitude  of  Joseph  Reinach,  whose  reports 
on  the  Hterary  movement  in  France  appeared  in  The  Athenceum. 
M.  Reinach's  report  for  1891-1892  devotes  only  a  few  words  to 
the  drama,  and  his  articles  for  the  years  1 892-1 895  completely 
ignore  this  genre. 

4 


50         Brieux  and  French  Society 

not  by  the  Pont  des  Arts,  at  least  through  the 
Palais-Bourbon. ' 

One  of  Pailleron's  types  is  Grigneux,  whose 
specialty  is  reproductions  of  La  Joconde.^  An- 
other is  the  novelist-dramatist  Larvejol,  whose 
fame  depends  on  the  willingness  of  the  censor  to 
prosecute  him.  Unique  is  Dr.  Saint-Marin,  a 
helldtre  and  ladies'  favourite  who,  in  order  to 
put  himself  before  the  public,  sends  messengers 
to  prominent  gatherings  to  inquire  for  him  on 
behalf  of  some  influential  patient.^  A  sculptor, 
Pierre,  on  the  contrary,  is  far  too  modest  to  be 
taken  seriously,  for  as  Doumic  remarks,  cahotinage, 
or  posing,  has  become  so  general  that  those  who 
seem  least  guilty  at  once  arouse  suspicion.  "^ 

Pailleron's  characters  are  neither  morally  cor- 
rupt nor  ferociously  envious,  for  the  reason  that 
they  belong  to  ''La  Tomate,"  a  society  for  mutual 
admiration  and  advancement.  ^    Indeed  Pailleron, 

*  L.  Chevallier  says  in  all  seriousness  that  cabotins  are  a  per- 
manent national  peril,  since  their  activity  has  spread  to  the 
lecture  platform,  where  they  easily  crowd  out  able  men.  Rev. 
Bleue,  Apr.  6,  1901. 

^  Grigneux  recalls  Taupin  in  Dumas's  Diane  de  Lys. 

3  Similar  tactics  are  employed  by  Murger's  heroes,  who  at  the 
caf6  keep  calling  for  the  periodical  edited  by  them  until  the 
proprietor  subscribes.  ( Vie  de  Boheme,  ch.  xi.)  In  Maupassant's 
Bel- Ami,  one  of  the  characters  always  buys  and  leaves  a  copy  of 
the  journal  containing  the  first  chapter  of  his  Souvenirs  when  he 
dines. 

^Deux  Mondes,  Mar.  15,  1894. 

5 This  society  meets  in  a  studio  called  "The  Garlic  Box," 
which  corresponds  to  the  "Flying  Toad"  in  Sardou's  Rahagas. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  51 

himself  a  ''bourgeois  to  the  core,"  and  interested 
only  in  the  bourgeoisie,  could  not  be  expected  to 
represent  his  artists  as  vagabonds  or  like  Lavedan's 
viveurs.  ^ 

In  Parattre  (1906),  Maurice  Donnay  shows 
several  instances  of  cahotinage  ranging  all  the  way 
from  the  innocent  display  of  literary  vanity  to 
assassination.  Yet  his  characters  are  not  repul- 
sive. As  a  rule  they  have  been  legally  married 
by  the  cure  or  the  mayor,  but  that  fact  does  not 
prevent  their  having  mistresses  or  amants.  The 
artists,  all  in  all,  are  more  tarnished  than  in 
Brieux's  play,  though  socially  they  belong  to  a 
more  elegant  class.  Donnay's  literary  type  is 
Mme.  Hurtz,  author  of  Les  Levres  Iliimides  (The 
Moist  Lips),  a  work  described  by  one  of  her  wor- 
shippers as  "a  masterpiece  .  .  .  without  paral- 
lel, delightful,  exquisite.  .  .  .  Nothing  like  it 
has  ever  been  written.  .  .  ."  When  the  novelist's 
admirers,  in  their  adoration,  literally  place  them- 
selves at  their  idol's  feet,  she  protests  but  feebly, 
indicating  that  she  expected  even  greater  mani- 
festation. 

Donnay  who,  like  Sarcey,  Doumic,  Paul  Flat, 
Jules  Lemaitre,  and  Alfred  Capus,  delights  in 
taking   a  fling  at  the  snobinettes  for  their  ex- 

'  To  Jean  Blaize  we  owe  another  delightful  satire  on  cahotins. 
In  Les  Planches  (1888),  he  studies  the  vanity  of  comedians. 
Noteworthy  is  the  case  of  Adrien  Dul,  an  actor,  who  attempts 
to  utilize  subsequently  on  the  stage  the  tragic  facial  and  vocal 
expressions  which  came  to  him  naturally  on  the  death  of  his 
mother. 


52         Brieux  and  French  Society 

travagant  admiration  of  foreigners,  makes  Mme. 
Hurtz  a  Tunisian  and  her  ecstatic  admirers  all 
women.  Sarcey  declared  apropos  of  Pelleas  ct 
Melisande  that,  if  the  piece  had  been  signed  by  a 
French  name,  it  would  doubtless  never  have  been 
pla3'ed  in  Paris,  and  that  if  it  had  been  produced, 
it  would  have  been  hissed  by  three  fourths  of 
those  who  were  ecstatic  over  it  at  the  perform- 
ance. ^  This  corroborates  Doumic's  assertion  that 
certain  French  dramatic  critics  **go  into  raptures" 
as  soon  as  it  is  a  question  of  a  foreign  author,^ 
Paul  Flat  avers  that  for  tvrenty  years  the  best 
works  signed  by  French  names  vrere  deliberately 
sacrificed  for  foreign  productions.  ^  xVlfred  Capus 
cites  the  case  of  Henri  Fabre,  the  great  entomolo- 
gist, who  enjoyed  international  fame  for  many 
years  before  being  "discovered"  by  the  snobs  in 
France.  ^ 

Un  Rate  (1S91),  a  novel  by  Gyp,  is  the  stor^-  of 
Ganuge,  a  young  "poet"  who,  after  displaying 
much  affected  melancholy  and  reverie  at  the  ex- 
pense of  his  credulous  admirers,  lures  !Mme.  Su- 
zanne ^lyre  to  a  fatal  guet-apcns,  because  she 
cannot  decide  to  become  his  mistress  in  deed  as 
-well  as  in  name.  This  young  decadent  dislikes 
particularly  authors  who  produce  tangible  works. 

*  Qiiarante  Ans  de  Theatre,  \-iii,  p.  422. 
'  Detix  Mondes,  July  15,  19 13. 
3  Xos  Femmes  de  Lettres,  p.  23. 

<  Figaro,  July  29,  1912.     One  of  Capus's  characters  in  Institut 
de  Beaute  says:  "Paris  is  no  longer  in  France,  it  is  in  Europe." 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  53 

He  regards  simplicity  and  clearness  of  style  as 
pernicious.  His  elegant  verse,  it  is  said,  remains 
unpublished.  He  is  preparing  a  remarkable  work, 
La  Rarefaction  Vihratile  du  Moi.  Though  he 
lives  near  Nancy,  Ganuge  belongs  to  a  cenacle 
in  Paris,  where  he  poses  as  a  prophet.  We  are 
told  that  ''the  greater  part  of  the  young  literary 
school  has  transformed  itself  into  a  society  for 
mutual  admiration.  Its  members  owe  their  re- 
putation to  works  which  have  never  existed,  yet 
they  finally  take  their  fame  seriously."  Suzanne 
is  a  jemme  inco?nprise,  who  thinks  her  husband, 
a  banker,  too  bourgeois.  She  is  obsessed  by  the 
profundity  of  Ganuge' s  genius,  but  for  some 
mysterious  reason  she  always  refuses  to  take  the 
final  step  in  her  liaison  with  the  young  rate.  The 
motive  of  his  homicide  is  'Ho  gain  celebrity,  to 
astonish  the  gallery  to  which  he  played."^ 

This  attack  is  directed  both  against  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  elegant  class  of  provincial  society  and 
the  pose  of  certain  young  decadents.  The  portrait 
of  the  **poet"  is  clever  and  well  executed.  His 
Rarefaction  Vihratile  du  Moi  is  a  parallel  master- 

^In  Flipote  (1893),  Jules  Lemaitre  satirizes  the  vanity  and 
cahotinage  of  a  young  actress,  who  disparages  her  confreres  and 
thinks  herself  the  "centre  of  the  universe."  Fhpote  marries  a 
mediocre  actor,  to  whom  she  secretly  transfers  a  part  of  her 
salarj'-,  in  order  to  mitigate  his  humihation.  But  the  revelation 
of  this  secret  and  the  young  wife's  jealousy  undermine  their 
menage,  which  in  the  final  scene  is  broken  up  with  the  inelegant 
epithets  pitre  and  cahotine,  hurled  respectively  at  each  other  by 
the  contracting  parties. 


54         Brieux  and  French  Society 

piece  to  Tervaux's  Les  Flavescences ,  But  in  Gyp's 
novel  the  evil  consequences  of  social  and  moral 
depravity  are  not  reflected  in  home  life.  While 
Brieux  depicts  children  crying  for  bread,  and 
wives  driven  to  despair  by  their  husbands'  dissi- 
pation, Suzanne's  children  are  scarcely  men- 
tioned. It  is  possible  that  Anatole  France, 
who  considers  Gyp  a  great  philosopher,^  owes  to 
her  the  suicide  episode  in  his  Histoire  Comique 
(1903).^ 

Satire  on  poseurs  in  mutual  admiration  societies 
IS  not  confined  to  contemporary  or  even  very 
recent  French  authors.  In  La  Camaraderie  (1837), 
Scribe  satirized  intrigue  as  practised  by  a  society 
for  mutual  advancement,  among  whose  members 
were  a  peer  of  France,  an  aristocratic  man  of 
letters,  a  poet-novelist,  a  painter,  a  publisher,  and 
a  now  admired  poet  who  formerly  failed  in  law.^ 
Another,  a  brilliant  young  lawyer,  had  been  so 
maligned  and  slandered  by  the  members  of  the 
Society  that  he  thought  seriously  of  ending  his 
life.     But  once  a  ''comrade,"  he  was  elected  to 

^  Vie  litter.,  il,  257. 

*  The  story  has  to  do  with  the  Odeon  Theatre  in  Paris.  One 
of  the  comedians,  Chevalier,  jealous  of  his  rival,  whom  Cheva- 
lier's former  mistress,  an  actress,  now  prefers  to  him,  commits 
suicide  in  the  presence  of  the  lovers.  At  the  funeral  it  is  learned 
that  Chevalier,  as  a  true  cabotin,  "killed  himself  merely  to  create 
notoriety"  (p.  196). 

3  All  these  "comrades"  are  "great,"  a  feature  noted  later  by 
Murger,  who  speaks  of  "Gustave,  le  grand  philosophe,  Marcel, 
le  grand  peintre,  Schaunard,  le  grand  musicien  et  Rodolphe,  le 
grand  poete."     Vie  de  Boheme,  ch.  xi. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  55 

Parliament,  and  the  Peer  gave  him  his  only 
daughter  in  marriage. 

If  Scribe's  comedy,  often  conventional  and 
colourless,  is  too  light,  excessive  seriousness,  on  the 
contrary,  mars  Charles  Demailly  (1858),  a  novel 
by  the  Goncourt  brothers  which  was  dramatized 
in  1892  by  Paul  Alexis  and  Oscar  Metenier.  The 
chief  characters  are  Demailly,  a  man  of  letters, 
and  Marthe,  an  actress  whom  he  marries.  She 
proves  to  be  not  the  virtuous  woman  Charles 
thought  her,  but  a  deceitful,  revengeful  cahotine, 
who  betrays  him  and  wrecks  his  life.  Other  artists 
who  appear  are  mostly  journalists,  one  of  whom, 
Nachette,  becomes  Marthe's  lover. 

The  authors  picture  journalistic  life  less  vividly 
than  Brieux,  and  they  are  concerned  far  less  with 
the  vanity  of  artists  than  with  the  perversity  of 
woman,  for  as  true  misogamists  they  regard 
woman's  influence  as  disastrous  to  the  artist. 
Edouard  Rod  shared  this  view,  at  least  as  long 
as  he  was  in  the  naturalist  camp.  In  La  Femme 
d' Henri  Vanneau  {The  Wife  of  He7iri  Vanneau, 
1884),  Rod  emphasizes  as  one  of  the  difficulties 
likely  to  be  encountered  by  the  true  artist  the 
danger  of  choosing  an  uncongenial  helpmate. 
Vanneau's  wife,  a  bourgeoise  without  artistic 
taste,  but  bent  on  his  immediate  success,  drags 
him,  in  her  wish  to  curry  favour  with  the  critics, 
into  a  coterie  of  cahotins.  In  spite  of  his  remon- 
strances regarding  the  dignity  of  both  woman 
and  art,  poor  Vanneau  is  caught  in  such  a  net  of 


56         Brlcux  and  French  Society 

intrigue  and  cahotinage  that,  despairing  of  domestic 
happiness  as  well  as  artistic  fame,  he  dies  a  martyr 
to  the  cause  of  art.  ^ 

If  the  artist  himself  does  not  suffer,  the  woman 
may.  It  is  her  side  of  the  case  that  Henry  Bern- 
stein gives  us  in  Le  Bercail  {The  Fold,  1904). 

Eveline  Landry,  a  fc?nme  iucomprise,  elopes 
Y/ith  Jacques  Foucher,  a  novelist,  abandoning 
her  husband  and  her  little  son.  In  the  second 
act,  the  lovers  have  been  living  together  for  four 
years.  Eveline  desires  a  quiet  life,  but  Foucher, 
claiming  that  he  can  work  only  in  a  gay  atmosphere, 
associates  with  "artists"  of  the  most  questionable 
character.  "We  feel  exceedingly  grateful  to  Bern- 
stein for  limiting  to  one  act  this  milieu  in  which 
Eveline  fails  to  find  happiness,  for  he  slashes  with 
his  characteristic  brutality.  Modesty  and  indus- 
try are  the  least  prominent  characteristics  of 
his  "artists."  Leon  Licvre,  a  young  fop,  declares 
that  the  Government  will  make  itself  conspicu- 

^  Sometimes  an  author  will  make  his  characters  express  opin- 
ions similar  to  those  of  Rod  and  the  Goncourts  without  sharing 
them  himself.  It  is  unlikely,  for  instance,  that  Jules  Lemaltre 
a;;rees  with  his  actress,  Flipote,  when  she  says:  "A  woman  artist 
should  never  marry"  {Flipote,  iii,  4),  or  that  Saujon  represents 
Tvlarcelle  Tinayre  in  his  boutade,  "When  an  artist  falls  madly 
in  love,  he  is  done  for:  the  great  artist  is  a  great  egotist"  {La 
Mai  son  du  Pcche,  ch.  xxiii).  Cernay,  however,  who  in  Le  Lys, 
by  P.  Wolff  and  G.  Leroux,  emphatically  condemns  the  mar- 
riage of  artists,  is  probably  the  authors'  spokesman.  In  Luclcn 
Descaves's  early  novel,  La  Teigne  {Tlie  Moth),  we  see  a  talented 
artist's  life  eaten  away  by  a  former  mistress,  who  has  become 
his  wife. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  57 

ously  ridiculous  if  the  IMinister  fails  to  decorate 
him  the  next  Fourteenth  of  July.  If  again  re- 
fused recognition,  he  will  stop  publishing 
poetry  for  a  year,  that  will  bring  the  Minister  to 
his  senses.  Foucher  himself,  formerly  a  literary 
giant,  produces  nothing  more  because  he  is  always 
going  to  begin  his  new  work  the  next  day  or  the 
next  week.  Unable  longer  to  endure  his  gilt 
peches  a  quinze  sous,  Eveline  leaves  him,  with 
almost  the  very  words  of  Emma  Vernier  to 
Tervaux :  *  *  Tu  es  un  rate!     Tu  es  un  rien  du  tout! ' '  ^ 

Henry  Bataille's  play,  La  Femme  Nue  {The  Nude 
Woman,  1908) ,  portra3^s  life  among  painters.  Pierre 
Bernier,  having  won  the  medal  of  honour,  marries  his 
model,  Loulou,  who  has  made  heroic  sacrifices  out  of 
devotion  to  him.  Pierre,  whose  fame  depends  some- 
v/hat  on  the  critical  opinion  of  the  Figaro,  becomes 
the  favourite  artist  of  fashionable  society ;  but  Lou- 
lou remains  the  simple,  intensely  devoted  woman 
that  she  was.  Pierre's  liaison  with  a ''princess" 
drives  his  young  wife  to  attempted  suicide. 

Both  Le  Bercail  and  La  Femme  Nue  attribute 
virtually  the  same  characteristics  to  artists  as 
Menages    d' Artistes — Bataille's    play    the    more 

^  Le  Mari  Reve  (1896),  a  novel  by  Julien  Berr  de  Turique, 
tells  a  similar  story  of  the  novelist  Raoul  Perignd  and  his  young 
Vvife,  JMarguerite.  Their  happiness  would  be  complete  if  Raoul 
were  not  obliged,  either  by  temperament  or  the  necessities  of 
art  (and  we  get  the  impression  that  the  latter  is  the  case),  to 
work  in  collaboration  with  others  and  travel  to  distant  lands. 
Marguerite  v;ho,  like  Eveline  Landr}^,  desires  to  live  with  her 
artist  in  retirement,  finds  that  a  woman  "never  marries  her  ideal." 


58         Brieux  and  French  Society 

seriously,  because  it  is  free  from  the  caricature 
which  is  mingled  with  the  earnestness  of  Brieux' s. 
To  a  greater  degree  than  M mages  d' Artistes  it 
gives  the  impression  of  reality.  Bataille  is  as 
much  at  home  among  painters  as  Brieux  among 
journalists.  In  comparison  with  Brieux's  drama, 
the  social  atmosphere  of  Le  Bercail  is  higher — at 
least  more  elegant — but  morally  more  corrupt. 
In  contrast  to  Brieux,  Bernstein  pays  almost  no 
attention  to  family  life — a  thing  too  respectable, 
or  rather  too  unusual,  for  his  artists. 

Though  other  plays  and  novels  might  be  cited 
to  show  the  importance  in  recent  French  litera- 
ture of  the  theme  which  Brieux  treats  in  Menages 
d' Artistes,  the  works  which  we  have  now  examined 
include  portraits  of  artists  of  all  kinds:  poets, 
dramatists,  novelists,  painters,  sculptors,  musi- 
cians, actors,  critics,  journalists.  The  literary 
characters  should  suffice  to  give  an  idea  of  men 
of  letters,  if  not  as  they  are,  at  least  as  they  are 
represented  by  recent  French  writers,  and  only 
such  men  of  letters  concern  us.  If,  then,  we  seek 
the  predominant  traits  of  authors  as  imagined 
by  authors,  the  answer  is :  vanity,  egotism,  jealousy, 
and  the  desire  to  pose — in  other  words,  essentially 
the  same  weaknesses  attributed  to  Brieux's  sorry 
specimens  in  Menages  d' Artistes.^     Indeed  Brieux, 

^  Exceptions  are  Charles  Demailly,  La  Femme  d^ Henri  Vanneau^ 
and  La  Teigne,  in  which  the  hero,  a  sympathetic  character, 
becomes  a  victim  of  woman's  perversity  and  bourgeois  stupidity. 
But  this  naturaHst  view  represents  only  a  minor  tendency. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  59 

in  considering  the  artist  as  a  member  of  society, 
tells  virtually  all  that  is  to  be  said  about  him, 
though  here  his  satire  lacks  the  delicate  touch 
that  he  reveals  a  little  later  in  Les  Bienfaiteurs, 
Substantially  all  the  weaknesses  which  other 
writers  attribute  to  artists,  especially  literary 
artists,  appear  in  his  characters.  Thus  at  the 
outset  of  his  success  as  a  playwright  he  gives 
promise  of  a  comprehensiveness  which,  when 
fully  developed  in  such  plays  as  Blanchettey  Les 
Trots  Filles  de  M,  Dtipont^  and  La  Robe  RougCy 
makes  him  the  most  significant  author  of  French 
social  drama  today. 

If  we  allow  ourselves  a  more  general  considera- 
tion of  our  theme,  we  may  hazard  the  opinion 
that  the  harsh  treatment  of  men  of  letters  in  the 
drama  is  only  natural,  for  we  seek  at  the  theatre 
a  pleasure  which  arises  out  of  the  misfortunes 
of  our  fellow-creatures.^  In  general,  moralists 
naturally  see  the  blameworthy  side  of  things.* 
It  is  the  essence  of  comedy  to  concern  itself  with 
society  and  social  institutions  for  the  purpose  of 
criticising  them.^  But  with  all  allowance  for  the 
exaggeration  of  the  drama,  Brunetiere  is  probably 
right  in  asserting  that  the  mania  for  "cutting  a 
figure"  has  always  been  a  typical  weakness  of 
French    authors.  ^     It    was    caustically    satirized 

I  J.  du  Tillet,  Rev.  Bleue,  Oct.  8,  1898. 

'T.  de  Wyzewa,  ibid.,  IMar.  24,  1894. 

3R.  Doumic,  Deux  Mondes,  Jan.  15,  1899. 

4  "La  Litt.  Personnelle,"  ibid.,  Jan.  15,  1888.     After  mention- 


6o  Brieux  and  French  Society 

as  early  as  1623  by  Charles  Sorel,  whose  hero  says 
of  his  confreres:  ^'They  are  the  most  presumptuous 
people  in  the  world.  Each  thinks  himself  supe- 
rior to  all  others,  and  gets  angry  when  any  one 
disagrees  with  him."^  Coming  to  the  nineteenth 
century,  we  find  that  Frederic  Loliee,  in  charging 
specific  French  men  of  letters  with  vanity  and 
egotism,  attributes  the  origin  of  such  fatuity  to 
the  encyclopaedists  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
but  says  that  it  reached  its  "epidemic"  stage 
only  with  the  romanticists  and  their  successors,  ^ 
He  declares  that  La  Bruyere's  maxim,  "A  man 
of  little  sense  believes  his  writings  divine;  a  man 
of  good  sense  thinks  at  most  that  his  work  is 
reasonable/'^  is  quite  forgotten,  or  rather  re- 
placed by  Rule  I  of  Scribe's  ''comrades":  "Each 
does  himself  justice;  he  knows  his  own  worth." "* 
After  passing  in  review  the  arch-egotists  Chateau- 
briand and  Hugo,  M.  Loliee  says  that  Stendhal, 
Vigny,    Cousin,   Pierre    Leroux,   Auguste  Comte, 

ing  in  support  of  his  assertion  the  abundant  correspondence, 
memoirs,  and  diaries  of  French  literature,  Brunetiere  declares 
that  the  literature  of  France  possesses  a  richer  collection  of 
confessions  than  all  others  combined. 

^  Ilist.  Com,  de  Francion,  Book  v. 

'"La  Modcstie  des  Gens  de  Lettres,"  Rev.  Blcue,  Aug.  30, 
1902.  "Formerly,"  observes  Jules  Guillemont,  "a  writer  was 
only  a  narrator.  Far  from  envying  his  heroes  the  pleasure  of 
constituting  the  centre  of  interest,  he  kept  himself  in  the  back- 
ground." ("Le  'Moi'  dans  la  Litt.  contcmp.,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar. 
22,  1884.)     Pascal  sa3^s:  "  Le  Moi  est  ha'issahle," 

3  Caracieres,  ch.  i. 

4  La  Camaraderie,  ii,  6. 


x^rtists  in  Recent  French  Literature  6i 

Maupassant,  Edmond  de  Goncourt,  Leconte  de 
Lisle  were  obsessed,  to  a  lesser  degree,  by  this  same 
vanity.^  Jules  Lemaitre  writes  of  Lamartine: 
"//  prejid  des  poses.''''  We  are  told  that  Balzac 
"had  an  enormous,  childish  vanity,  thirsty  for 
reputation  and  renown."^  Another  critic  speaks 
of  Flaubert's  "extremely  ready  scorn  for  every- 
thing that  he  disagreed  with. "  ^  As  for  the  younger 
generation,  Doumic  accuses  them  of  presuming 
to  discover  America  every  morning.  ^ 

This  self-sufiiciency  and  personal  superiority 
would  be  complete,  were  it  not  for  the  competi- 
tion of  dangerous  rivals.  For  notwithstanding 
the  unruffled  bliss  of  Pailleron's  cahotins  in  their 
society  of  "La  Tomate,"  it  is  evident  that  not  all 
authors  belong  to  the  same  society  for  mutual 
admiration,  though  Alfred  Capus  does  remark 
that  they  are  all  united  by  one  common  bond: 
mutual  contempt.^  According  to  a  saying  of 
La  Bruyere:  "Such  as  by  their  circumstances 
are  free  from  the  jealousies  of  authors,  have  other 
cares  or  passions  to  divert  them."^     It  has  been 

^  In  the  case  of  Maupassant,  however,  M.  Maynlal  thinks  that 
"ccux  qui  ont  parle  de  morgue,  de  pose,  de  snobisme,  ont  servi 
plus  ou  moins  consciemment  d'implacables  rancunes."  {La 
Vie  et  les  CEiivres  de  Maupassant,  p.  196.)  iMthough  jM.  Loliee 
is  not,  like  a  Gilbert,  a  Goncourt,  or  a  Zola  an  author  seeking 
vengeance,  still  it  is  regrettable  that  a  man  like  Vigny  should 
be  accused  of  vanity. 

^  Contemp.,  vi,  91.  3  A.  Le  Breton,  Balzac,  p.  21. 

4  E.  Faguet,  Flaubert,  p.  17.        s  j)eux  Mondes,  Jan.  15,  1895. 

^•"Les  Gens  de  Lettres,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  14,  1S91. 

'  Caracteres,  ch.  i. 


62  Brieux  and  French  Society 

maliciously  hinted  that  Becque*s  jealous  rivals 
consented  to  establish  his  fame  only  after  it  was 
certain  that  it  could  not  injure  them.^  Zola 
speaks  of  the  ferocious  rivalry  which  his  jealous 
artists  endeavour  to  conceal  by  handshaking. 
Sandoz,  his  hero,  says  to  his  wife,  after  their 
artist-guests  have  departed:  "You  were  right! 
we  will  not  invite  them  all  to  dinner  again;  they 
would  devour  one  another."  "^ 

The  fatuity  of  authors,  even  if  as  extreme  as 
certain  exaggerations  indicate,  would  find  its 
justification  in  the  intense  mental  and  physical 
strain  undergone  by  such  men  as  Balzac,  Flau- 
bert, Taine,  and  Zola.  The  morbid  Goncourts 
were  frequently  impressed  by  this  fact.^  Anatole 
France,  too,  thinks  that  the  conditions  of  an 
author's  existence  became  more  exacting  with 
the  nineteenth  century.  ^  Writers  now  feel  obliged 
to  keep  in  touch  with  the  appalling  mass  of  current 
literature,  which  of  itself  is  an  exacting  task  and 
makes  Bohemian  life  well  nigh  impossible.  One 
does  not  see  how  an  author  can  still  find  time  for 

^  J.  Ernest-Charles,  Rev.  Bleue,  July  21,  1900. 

'  L'CEuvre,  chs.  x-xi.  Augustin  Filon,  writing  as  a  critic  of 
French  literary  history  says:  "Ce  qu'on  nous  a  donne  de  la  corre- 
spondance  de  nos  plus  grands  ecrivains  a  ete  une  deception.  .  .  . 
lis  nous  ont  inities  aux  vulgaires  petits  moyens  a  I'aide  desquels 
ils  cultivaient  leur  gloire,  aux  feroces  jalousies  litteraires  qui 
faisaient  d'eux,  en  secret,  Ics  ennemis  de  leurs  maitres,  de  leurs 
amis  ou  meme  de  leurs  disciples,  pendant  qu'ils  les  portaient 
aux  nues  en  public."     Merimee,  p.  167. 

3  Journal,  June  3,  1872,  and  Feb.  25,  1886. 

<  Vie  litter.,  i,  93. 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  63 

political  activity,  like  Chateaubriand,  Guizot,  La- 
martine,  Thiers,  and  Hugo.  Yet,  in  recent  years 
Vogue,  Paul  Deroulede,  and  Maurice  Barres  have 
taken  upon  themselves  this  additional  burden.^ 

To  be  sure,  mental  exertion,  social  and  political 
activity  may  not  constitute  the  artist's  chief 
burden.  Even  writers  of  merit  do  not  always 
receive  recognition  at  once,  and  if  hampered  by 
financial  difficulties,  they  may  debate  with  them- 
selves in  all  seriousness  the  question  of  "breaking 
their  pen,'*  as  Jacques  Tervaux  expresses  it.^ 
It  must  be  said  to  the  credit  of  our  time,  however, 
that  the  Chattertons  and  the  Hegesippe  Moreaus 
{Chien  parvefiu,  do?tne-moi  ten  secret.)  have  less 
reason  for  complaint  than  formerly.  ^  If  Vigny's 
"Docteur  Noir"  were  to  put  on  his  glasses  today, 
he  would  see  things  with  less  pessimism. 

^  Henri  Berenger  considers  this  dual  activity  not  only  natural, 
but  very  desirable.  After  condemning  the  separation  of  litera- 
ture and  politics  resulting  from  the  theory  of  art  for  art's  sake, 
he  asserts  that  the  present  generation  thinks  men  of  letters  have  an 
immense  responsibility.  {Rev.  Bleue,  Jan.  20,  1897.)  Chateau- 
briand, who  was  proud  of  his  political  role,  always  protested 
against  the  supposed  incompatibility  of  literary  genius  and 
political  talent.     Cf.  his  Congres  de  Verone,  vol.  i,  p.  55. 

^Francion's  conviction  that  "the  Pluses  prefer  a  humble 
abode"  (Hist.  Com.  de  Francion,  Book  iv)  is  consoling  and 
encouraging;  but,  as  Alfred  Capus  has  said,  study  the  life  of  a 
merchant,  a  writer,  a  savant,  an  inventor;  you  will  find  that 
everywhere,  at  every  moment,  he  is  influenced  by  the  rhythm 
of  his  initial  start.     Mtrurs  du  Temps,  i,  255. 

3  Renan  tells  us  that  Abel,  one  of  the  great  mathematicians 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  died  from  neglect.  Essais  de  Morale 
et  de  Crit.,  p.  24. 


64  Brieux  and  French  Society 

But  whatever  the  conditions  of  life  at  present, 
a  poet  must  no  longer  expect  leniency  and  sym- 
pathy from  the  world  merely  because  he  is  a  poet 
and  not  a  bourgeois.  That  naive  fallacy  of 
romanticism  has  long  been  exploded.  Painting, 
writing,  and  composing  music  are  no  more  meri- 
torious than  the  work  of  the  engineer,  the  doctor, 
or  the  notary.^  The  plea  of  Jacques  Tervaux 
and  his  fellow-artists  for  a  special  code  of  moral 
indulgence  meets  with  deaf  ears  in  our  disillusioned 
age.^  "An  author  in  hopeful  expectation  of  a 
masterpiece,**  says  Emile  Faguet,  "is  much  to 
be  pitied,  of  course;  but  his  are  the  trials  of 
the  grand  seigneur,  the  trials  of  ambition  and 
vanity."^ 

After  all,  the  theme  of  literary  vanity  is  more 
humorous  dramatically  than  in  reality.  There 
are  rates  and  rates.  Some  are  vain,  conceited,  and 
indolent;  others,  conscientious  and  sincerely  per- 
suaded that  they  have  talent  when  they  have  not.  ^ 

^G.  Thiesson,  "Reflexions  sur  I'Art,"  Effort  Libre,  1912,  p. 
486. 

'^  "Assurement,"  Paul  Janet  declared  long  ago,  "nous  avons 
lieu  d'etre  las  aujourd'hui  d'une  theorie  qui  fait  du  desordre 
raccompagnement  neccssaire  du  genie."  {Deux  Moiides,  Sept. 
15,  1875.)  Nor  will  Frangois  Coppee's  Ballade  en  Faveur  des 
Rates,  in  which  he  generously  offers  to  avenge  them  for  the 
"coups  de  pied  de  I'^ne  et  du  bourgeois,"  change  public  sentiment. 

i  Rev.  Bleue,  Jan.  9,  1892. 

4  Cj.  Andre  Mellerio's  rate  in  La  Vie  Sterile  (1892).  Philippe 
Raymond  has  more  money  than  literary  talent.  After  vain 
attempts  at  bribing  the  Muses,  he  realizes  that  his  brain  is  being 
hopelessly  tortured  and  consumed  (p.  201). 


Artists  in  Recent  French  Literature  65 

Human  egotism  naturally  leads  each  author  to 
think  himself  a  favourite  of  the  Muses.  Unfor- 
tunately a  Leconte  de  Lisle,  a  Nietzsche,  a  Renan, 
an  Ibsen  never  formulated  a  criterion  for  deter- 
mining just  which  mortals  deserve  to  be  classed 
with  the  elite^  that  is,  with  themselves.  But  let 
us  continue  to  beHeve  that  at  least  such  men  as 
Legouve,  Pasteur,  Taine,  Henri  Fabre,  Alfred 
Fouillee,  and  Mistral  were  sincerely  modest,  in 
spite  of  the  assertion  that  ''flattery  is  heightened 
in  proportion  as  one  seems  to  avoid  it."^ 

In  a  certain  sense  a  writer's  theme  may  be 
indicative  of  modesty.  For  after  such  bewilder- 
ing masterpieces  as  Les  Flavesceitces,  Les  Levres 
HumideSy  and  La  Rarefaction  Vihratile  du  Moi,  we 
are  grateful  for  the  refreshing  contrast  of  certain 
works,  whose  authors,  striking  a  less  pretentious 
note,  choose  as  subjects  the  humbler  creatures  of 
this  world.  Thus  Baudelaire,  Taine,  Mme.  Miche- 
let,  and  Frangois  Coppee  write  charmingly  about 
their  cats ;  Leon  Cladel  describes  life  with  his  dogs 
in  the  rugged  region  of  his  native  Quercy ;  Maurice 
Maeterlinck  deduces  wholesome  moral  lessons  from 
the  life  of  the  honey-bee;  and  Frangois  Fabie 
celebrates  domestic  animals  and  winged  creatures 
of  every  kind.  All  readers  of  a  work  like  Eugene 
Mouton's  Zoologie  Morale  are  benefited  morally 
and  socially.  The  names  of  dumb  brutes,  even 
though  they  be  only  a  disguise,  as  in  Chantederf 

*  F.  Loliee,  ref .  quoted. 
5 


66         Brieux  and  French  Society 

make   us   forget   for   a   moment    the   egotistical 
superiority  of  man.' 

Probably  after  all  Frencli  men  of  letters  are 
no  more  conceited  than  their  confreres  in  other 
countries.  But  the  French  people,  who  are  strictly 
opposed,  in  principle,  to  every  form  of  commer- 
cial advertisement,  naturally  exaggerate  the  vanity 
and  cabotinage  of  their  authors.  Their  instinct 
for  caricature  would  enable  them  to  make  a  good 
showing  even  with  a  poor  case.  And  literary 
critics  are  apt  to  share  the  zeal  of  Sainte-Beuve, 
who  used  to  say  that  he  was  never  satisfied  until 
he  discovered  a  great  man's  weakness. 

^  This  principle  explains,  largely,  the  immense  vogue  of  a 
work  like  Kipling's  Jungle  Book.  After  a  long  period  of  sex 
literature,  with  the  Indispensable  theme  of  adultery,  the  human 
soul  craves  a  change. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  D^CLASSES 

Blanchette  (Brieux) — Michel  Verneuil  (Tlieuriet) 
— Le  Ferment  (Estaunie) — VEtape  (Bourget) — 
Vlnqidet  (Comut) — Maitre  Lardent  (Leroux- 
Cesbron) — La  Terre  qui  Meurt  (Bazin) — Les 
Noellet  (Bazin) — U Etude  Chandoux  (Glouvet). 

TTMILE  FAGUET  asserts  that  nothing  else  af- 
•*— '  fords  the  French  people  so  much  pleasure  as 
heaping  ridicule  upon  those  who  attempt  to  rise 
above  their  social  station.  ^  In  the  same  vein,  Au- 
gustin  Filon  speaks  of  '  *  ces  aff reuses  crispations  de 
cceur  qui  font,  en  France,  une  torture  de  V existence 
des  declasses''^  Probably  no  other  French  social 
question  has  caused  so  much  envy,  heartache,  and 
despair,  for  no  people  feel  ridicule  quite  so  keenly 
as  the  French.  According  to  Saint-Marc  Girar- 
din,  indeed,  rather  than  to  expose  themselves  to 
ridicule,  they  prefer  to  deprive  themselves  of 
happiness  and  material  comfort.  ^ 

Problems  of  social  ambition  are  not  new  in 
France.     They  began  to  assume  a  serious  aspect 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Apr.  13,  1912.  ^  Ibid.,  Oct.  10,  1891. 

^  Deux  Mondes^  Dec.  15,  1S54. 

67 


68         Brieux  and  French  Society 

.  in  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
owing  to  influences  which  pulled  both  up  and 
down.  The  nobility,  neglecting  their  estates, 
flocked  to  the  Court,  thus  hastening  their  financial 
and  moral  ruin.  And  the  preference  of  Louis 
XIV  for  bourgeois  officials  naturally  encouraged 
the  Fourth  Estate  to  seek  admittance  to  the  ranks 
of  the  bourgeoisie. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  there  were  not  equally 
strong  causes  to  make  the  question  of  the  "un- 
classed"  acute.  But  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
France  became  the  country  par  excellence  of  the 
declasses,  as  a  result  of  the  Great  Revolution  and 
its  sequels  terminating  in  the  Third  Republic. 
This  condition  was  the  inevitable  consequence  of 
making  political  equality  the  basis  of  the  social 
organism  in  a  country  originally  composed  of 
widely  divergent  social  elements.  It  is  natural 
that  the  levelling  egalitarian  spirit,  which  tends  to 
bring  all  classes  to  the  same  social  plane,  should 
cause  infinite  dislocations  and  meet  with  deter- 
mined opposition,  not  only  from  the  higher  classes 
drawn  downward,  but  also  from  those  who  happen 
to  occupy  the  central  plane  of  social  gravity  and 
hence  strive  to  bar  unwelcome  intruders  from 
below. 

Under  this  levelling  regime  the  nobility,  de- 
prived of  both  pecuniary  assistance  from  the 
Crown  and  legalized  distinction,  assumed  an  atti- 
tude of  sulking  indifference,  which  in  many  cases 
degenerated  into  intellectual  and  industrial  sloth. 


The  Declasses  69 

The  only  course  open  to  a  ruined  nobleman  was 
to  "regild"  his  escutcheon  by  an  alliance  with  the 
new  aristocracy — the  wealthy  bourgeoisie.  Each 
alliance  of  this  kind  (and  according  to  literary 
opinion  they  have  been  very  numerous)  unclassed 
both  contracting  parties. 

Alliances  of  this  nature  attract  less  attention 
now  than  they  did  formerly;  in  the  France  of  our 
time,  the  nobility  may  be  considered  a  relatively 
unimportant  class.  Students  of  social  problems 
are  concerned  chiefly  with  the  common  people 
and  the  lower  bourgeoisie,  the  classes  which 
constitute  a  large  majority  of  the  population. 
If  these  classes  are  benefited  by  rising  socially, 
then  well  and  good.  But  do  they  all  bless  their 
social  elevation?  On  this  subject  certain  French 
authors  have  expressed  decided  opinions,  and 
their  verdict  constitutes  our  highest  authority. 
This  was  the  subject  that  led  Brieux  to  write 
Bla?icheUe,  which  was  produced  two  years  after 
Menages  d' Artistes. 

Robert  de  Chantemelle^  plausibly  divides  the 
unclassed  into  the  declasses  d'en  haul  and  the 
declasses  d'en  has.  The  nobility,  when  unclassed, 
belong  to  the  first  group,  represented  in  such 
dramas  as  Le  Gendre  de  M.  Poirier  (Augier), 
Mademoiselle  de  la  Seigliere  (Sandeau),  Le  Prince 
d^Aurec  (Lavedan),  Les  Deux  Noblesses  (Lavedan), 
U Emigre  (Bourget).  Representing  the  second 
group   are    Le    Mariage    d'Olympe    (Augier),    La 

*  Fr.  de  Curel,  Les  Fossiles,  ii,  2. 


70         Brieux  and  French  Society 

Question  d'' Argent  (Dumas),  Michel  Pauper 
(Becque),  Blanchette  (Brieux),  Catherine  (Lave- 
dan),  Le  Detour  (Bernstein),  Samson^  (Bernstein). 
Emile  Faguet  distinguishes  yet  what  he  terms 
the  '^  stcr classes^ ^ — that  is,  persons  who  rise  above 
their  social  station  and  succeed.  Among  works 
treating  them  may  be  mentioned  Le  Fils  Naturel 
(Dumas),  Le  Fils  de  Gihoyer  (Augier),  Monsieur 
Piegois  (Capus),  Les  Vai^igiieurs  (E.  Fabre),  Le 
Cceur  Dispose  (Croisset).^  A  peculiar  type  of 
declasse  may  be  distinguished  in  those  natural 
children  who  reproach  their  parents  for  taking 
them  out  of  the  peaceful  obscurity  of  the  class  in 
which  they  have  begun  life.  Jacques  Vignot, 
in  Le  Fils  Naturel,^  who  afterward  succeeds  so 
brilliantly,  says  to  his  mother:  ''You  ought  to 
have  made  me  an  obscure  labourer  concerned  only 
about  his  daily  bread,  with  no  other  education 
except  respect  for  his  mother  and  his  own  reputa- 
tion."    We   shall   see   that   Lucienne   Bertry   in 

^  That  is,  from  the  standpoint  of  Jacques  Brachard,  a  par- 
venu. His  wife  and  the  other  members  of  the  nobiHty  are 
"unclassed  from  above."  Frequently  a  drama  may  belong  to 
both  groups. 

^  Henry  Bernstein  {Le  Bercail,  i,  3)  speaks  humorously  of  a 
dedassee  even  in  the  matter  of  motherhood. 

"Eveline:  No,  no,  I  do  not  love  my  child  as  other  mothers 
love  their  children. 

"  Foucher:  Because  you  were  not  ready  for  motherhood ;  because 
you  had  not  gone  through  any  of  the  preparatory  stages ;  because 
you  had  known  neither  parental  affection,  nor  family  life,  nor  a 
man's  love." 

3  Act  II,  sc.  6. 


The  Declasses  71 

Brieux's  V Evasion'^  takes  the  same  view  of  her 
situation. 

Though  Chantemelle's  division  of  the  unclassed 
seems  reasonable,  the  transformations  which 
French  society  has  undergone  since  the  Revolu- 
tion, with  the  corresponding  violent  fluctuations 
in  material  welfare,  have  in  part  upset  the  old 
classifications.  One  of  Alfred  Capus's  characters 
in  Monsieur  Piegois  (1905),  when  stigmatized  as 
a  declasse,  says  triumphantly:  ^'The  unclassed 
have  become  so  numerous  that  they  form  regular 
classes  of  their  own,  which,  like  the  others,  have 
their  rich  and  their  poor,  their  victors  and  their 
vanquished."^  It  is  true  that  v/hile  the  pos- 
terity of  the  Dandins,  the  Jourdains,  the  Poiriers, 
and  the  Levraults^  were  continuing  the  old  tradi- 
tions, other  types  of  unclassed  developed.  In 
this  multiplication  of  such  types,  it  is  not  strange 
that  searchers  for  causes  of  social  discontent  have 
discovered  victims  of  economic  conditions.  In 
certain  cases  they  have  felt  justified  in  laying  the 
blame  for  these  unfortunates  squarely  upon  the 
State  for  encouraging  its  peasantry  to  rise  by 
means  of  education  to  a  social  class  in  which  they 
cannot  maintain  themselves.  It  is  therefore  not 
surprising  that  the  victims,   for  the  most  part 

^  Act  III,  sc.  10. 

*  Act  I,  sc.  6.  In  Rosine,  an  earlier  drama  by  Capus,  the 
hero  declares  that  the  unclassed  are  now  the  only  people  who 
enjoy  life. 

3  Jules  Sandeau,  Sacs  el  Parchemins. 


^2         Brieux  and  French  Society 

peasant  children  who  owe  their  misfortunes  to 
alluring  promises  of  diplomas  and  the  hope  of 
attaining  bourgeois  distinction,  should  curse  the 
credulity  and  vanity  of  their  parents  and  the 
inconsistency  of  the  State,  which  does  everything 
to  facilitate  education,  without  making  any  pro- 
vision for  the  future  of  those  whom  it  has  educated. 

It  is  this  deplorable  lot  of  a  young  person  un- 
classed  by  education  which  Brieux  presented  with 
such  dramatic  power  in  Blanchette  (1892),  that 
ever  since  his  place  has  been  secure  in  the  first 
rank  of  contemporary  French  playwrights.  The 
recent  French  novel  frequently  depicts  the  same 
'  bitter  disappointment  of  young  people  who  have 
put  their  faith  in  diplomas.  The  whole  question 
is  connected  with  the  tendency  of  the  rural  popula- 
'  tion  to  desert  the  country  for  the  city,  in  the  hope 
of  rising  to  the  social  life  of  the  bourgeoisie.^ 

The  scene  of  Blanchette  is  a  village  cabaret 
owned  by  "pere  Rousset,"  a  peasant  with  in- 
cipient bourgeois  pretensions.  The  problem  is 
presented  at  the  very  outset,  when  M.  Galoux, 
the  County  Counsellor,  drops  in  and  Rousset 
asks  him  what  the  Government  intends  to  do  for 
his  daughter,  Blanchette,  who,  though  given  her 
teacher's  certificate  six  months  before,  has  not 
been  appointed  to  a  position.  Unhooking  her 
diploma  from  the  wall,  the  proud  father  says  to 

*  "Oublieux  des  beaut^s  du  village  natal, 
"  Beaucoup  vont  celebrant  des  cites  de  metal." 

Fr.  Jammes,  Georgigues  Chretiennes,  Chant  II. 


The  Declasses  73 

M.  Galoux:  ''There  it  is!  What  did  the  State 
mean  by  encouraging  my  daughter  to  go  so  far  in 
education?  All  those  competitive  examinations, 
stipends,  and  promises,  crowned  by  the  supreme 
official  acknowledgment  with  the  Government 
seal  and  the  official  signatures, — were  they  not 
meant  seriously?'*  Then  the  wily  peasant  con- 
siders the  political  consequences  of  such  a  breach 
of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  He  is 
not  asking  a  favour,  but  the  payment,  as  it  were, 
of  a  promissory  note,  of  returns  for  money  invested 
in  his  daughter's  education.  He  reminds  the 
Counsellor  that  he  encouraged  him  to  give  Blan- 
chette  a  good  education,  with  the  assurance  that 
she  would  earn  a  good  salary. 

M.  Galoux  fully  realizes  Blanchette's  rare 
attainments.  His  daughter,  who  knew  her  at 
boarding-school,  is  her  best  friend.  But  unfor- 
tunately, on  the  Prefect's^  books  there  are  many 
applicants  registered  ahead  of  Blanchette.  Plow- 
ever,  he  will  see  the  Prefect  about  the  matter.^ 

^  A  prefect  is  the  highest  civil  official  in  the  French  geographi- 
cal division  called  a  "  de parte me7it." 

^"Recommendation  has  become  the  Frenchman's  religion. 
If,  very  often,  this  protection  does  no  good,  it  at  least  enables 
the  applicant  to  hope  for  a  paradise  of  indolence  and  consoles 
him  for  his  dupery."     G.  Deherme,  La  Crise  Sociale,  p.  179. 

Formerly  teachers  were  appointed  by  the  I^Iinistcr  of  the 
Interior  through  the  Prefect  of  the  particular  department; 
but  this  objectionable  system,  which  necessarily  made  the 
teacher  dependent  upon  political  favour,  was  abolished  in  19 14. 
According  to  the  new  law,  the  Prefect  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  appointment  of  teachers. 


74  Brieux  and  French  Society 

It  is  liigh  time  that  something  be  done,  for 
Mme.  Rousset,  a  timid  woman,  knows  that  her 
husband  will  not  tolerate  a  "lady"  about  him 
very  long.  She  is  already  frightened  at  her 
daughter's  dreams  of  splendour.  Blanchette 
hopes  to  marry  her  friend's  brother,  Georges 
Galoux,  who,  she  fancies,  will  be  elected  to  Parlia- 
ment. Then  she  will  have  a  political  and  literary 
salon  with  a  cJiamhre  Louis  XV, '^  These  air 
castles  make  the  young  declassee  profoundly  dis- 
satisfied with  her  lot.  Nevertheless,  her  parents, 
still  labouring  under  their  vain  delusions,  reject 
with  derision  the  matrimonial  suit  of  a  black- 
smith's son:  "All,  no!  We  did  not  educate  our 
daughter  to  give  her  to  a  labourer  like  ourselves."^ 

At    the   opening   of    Act   II,    Blanchette,    still 

'  In  Maison  Neuve  (1866),  Sardou  emphasizes  the  baneful 
influence  of  the  fashionable  boarding-schools.  Instead  of  re- 
ceiving an  education  to  fit  her  for  her  future  shop-work,  his 
heroine  has  learned  dancing,  music,  painting,  and  poetical  com- 
position. The  school  has  developed  in  her  a  romantic,  over- 
wrought imagination,  with  dreams  of  jewels,  sumptuous 
residences,  brilHant  equipages,  f6tes,  and  balls.  But  after  asso- 
ciating in  splendour  with  the  daughters  of  marquises  and  of 
bankers,  she  is  obliged  to  accept  the  prosaic  realities  of  a  shop- 
keeper's life — all  on  account  of  her  father's  vanity. 

Essentially  these  same  results  of  the  modern  education  for 
girls  are  depicted  by  Alex.  Debray  in  his  comedy,  VEnfant 
Cdtee  (1907).  C/.  Albert  Cim's  novel.  Institution  de  Demoiselles^ 
which  denounces  as  worse  than  worthless  the  education  that 
the  daughters  of  the  titled  and  the  moneyed  aristocracy  receive 
in  the  fashionable  boarding-schools. 

'  P.  Leroy-Beaulieu  notes  the  disdain  of  young  women  of  the 
lower  classes,  who  have  obtained  their  teacher's  diploma,  for 
peasant  suitors.     Traite  d'Econ.  Pol.,  iv,  625. 


The  Ddclass^s  75 

without  a  position,  has  decided  to  utilize  her 
knowledge  at  home.  In  view  of  her  matrimonial 
hopes,  the  cabaret  must  be  transformed  into  a 
stylish  cafe,  that  the  family  may  rise  socially. 
Following  the  theories  in  her  books  on  science, 
she  induces  her  father  to  put  fertilizer  on  his 
wheat;  but  owing  to  her  miscalculation,  this 
results  disastrously  and  arouses  his  anger.  During 
a  quarrel,  a  little  later,  Rousset  strikes  his 
daughter,  but  she  remains  defiant.  When  she  com- 
plains about  her  situation,  Mme.  Rousset  ex- 
claims: "If  you  knew  only  just  enough  to  read 
and  write,  you  would  not  let  imaginary  trouble 
worry  you."  Thus  Blanchette's  education  proves 
a  misfortune  for  her  parents  as  well  as  herself.^ 

Good  news  which  M.  Galoux  brings  does  not 
make  things  better.  There  were  at  first  two 
thousand  candidates  ahead  of  Blanchette,  whereas 
now,  he  says,  thanks  to  his  influence,  the  number 
has  been  reduced  to  only  514.^  Pending  her 
appointment,  he  suggests  that  Blanchette  should 
help  his  daughter  in  her  studies.     This  attempted 

^  Giboyer  says  that  "ce  grand  chemin  de  I'education,  ou  notre 
jolie  society  laisse  s'engouffrer  tant  de  pauvres  diables,  est  un 
cul-de-sac."  {Les  Effrontcs,  iii,  4.)  Philippe  Huguet,  another 
of  Augier's  characters,  criticizes  those  parents  who  think  that 
they  can  provide  for  their  children's  future  by  placing  in  their 
hands  "un  dipl6me,  arme  vaine."     La  Jeunesse,  i,  2. 

'  "At  the  Prefecture  of  the  Seine  there  are  7000  applications 
for  193  positions  in  the  elementary  schools."  H.  Clement, 
"Le  Fonctionnarisme  et  la  Depopulation,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  26, 
1909. 


^^         Brieux  and  French  Society 

intercession  only  intensifies  Rousset's  rigour.  After 
repeating  his  grievances — chief  of  which  is  Blan- 
chette's  failure  to  obtain  a  position — the  stern 
old  peasant  gives  her  her  choice :  she  must  either 
do  scrubbing  and  menial  housework  or  leave 
home.     Blanchette  prefers  to  go.^ 

More  than  a  year  later,  in  Act  III,  Blanchette 
returns  haggard  and  ill-clad.  Rousset  orders  her 
to  leave  again,  but  she  begs  to  stay.  She  relates 
that  young  Galoux  wanted  to  make  her  his 
mistress,  and  that  elsewhere  her  experiences  were 
equally  disappointing.  In  Paris,  where  there  were 
ten  girls  for  one  day's  employment,  she  could 
earn  only  a  franc  by  working  twelve  hours.  To 
be  sure,  there  was  a  more  lucrative  profession 
which,  as  she  observed,  even  certain  girls  with 
diplomas  embraced.^ 

^  Her  mother's  failure  to  defend  her  seems  unnatural.  She 
is  intimidated  by  Rousset.  In  the  French  drama  it  is  unusual 
for  a  girl  to  leave  home  except  to  elope  with  her  lover.  Mme. 
Lechat,  dreading  the  thought  of  living  alone  with  her  husband, 
embraces  Germaine  affectionately  when  the  girl  departs.  {Les 
Affaires,  by  0.  Mirbeau.)  Numerous  are  the  instances  in  which  a 
mother  intercedes  for  her  son,  for  according  to  Sully  Prudhomme, 
"Lorsque  le  pere  desherite, 
"  La  mere  laisse  ouverts  ses  bras." 
"When  Brassier  disowns  his  son  {Les  Grands,  by  P.  Vcber  and  S. 
Basset)  the  boy's  mother  swoons.  Mme.  Portal,  in  Le  Trihiin 
(Bourget),  Mme.  Baudouin,  in  VApotre  (Loyson),  and  Mme. 
Combarrieu,  in  Mere  (Malot),  each  pleads  for  her  son.  When 
Adrien  Pcrraud  is  driven  from  home  by  his  father  {La  Poigne, 
by  Jean  Jullien),  Mme.  Pcrraud  succumbs  to  heart  failure. 

2  Compare  the  heroine's  experience  in  VEcoliere  (1901),  by 
Jean  Jullien.     Albert  Cim  shows  in  his  thesis  novel,  Demoiselles 


The  Declasses  77 

Blanchette  is  now  glad  to  accept  the  formerly 
scorned  blacksmith's  son  as  her  fiance.  Yet 
when  her  father  asks  her  whether  it  is  a  mistake 
to  give  one's  children  an  education,  she  says  that 
it  is  not.  Only,  their  education  should  be  some- 
thing which  they  can  use,  instead  of  training  for 
government  employment. 

This  last  act  has  been  criticized  as  illogical. 
The  defect,  if  there  is  any,  consists  in  Blanchette's 
inability  to  make  an  independent  living,  rather 
than  in  her  ideaHzed  virtue.  Yet  the  latter  has 
usually  been  considered  the  chief  objection.  Of 
course  if  the  girl  had  succeeded  alone,  there 
could  have  been  no  third  act.     But  the  dramatic 


d,  Marier  (1894),  that  diplomas  do  not  fit  young  women  for  the 
work  of  life,  but  rather  make  of  them  declassees  and  filles-meres 
(p.  245).  M.  and  Mme.  Lemeslicr  find  a  good  husband  for  their 
younger  daughter,  who  has  learned  dressmaking;  but  nobody 
wants  to  marry  her  sister,  Aline,  "une  fille  si  instruite,  pour 
laquelle  on  avait  fait  tant  de  sacrifices,  possedant  tons  ses 
brevets"  (p.  146).  At  thei  end,  after  Aline  has  gone  wrong — like 
Blanchette  in  the  original  version  of  Brieux's  play — she  sees 
hanging  side  by  side  on  the  wall  her  two  large  gilt-framed  diplo- 
mas, Brevet  Elementaire:  Brevet  Superieur,  which  now  seem  to 
jeer  at  her  and  insult  her  (p.  334).  Tliis  novel  is  dedicated  to 
Francisque  Sarce}^,  whose  sentiments  it  voices. 

Similarly  Hugues  Le  Roux,  after  a  thorough  investigation, 
concludes  that  "three  fourths  of  the  prostitutes  are  women  who 
owe  their  fall  to  an  education  which  has  unclassed  them."  Nos 
Jilles  guUn  ferons-nous?     Ch.  iv. 

One  of  Forain's  caricatures  represents  a  scene  in  a  house 
of  prostitution.  To  her  customer,  who  is  examining  with 
curiosity  a  parchment  tacked  to  the  wall,  the  girl  says:  "Ca, 
c'est  mon  brevet  superieur!" 


78         Brieux  and  French  Society 

situation  required  her  return  to  the  paternal 
threshold;  otherwise  the  declassee  would  not 
have  merited  our  sympathy.  That  this  situation 
strengthens  the  play  is  proved  by  the  experiment 
of  Antoine,  who,  in  his  tour  of  the  "provinces," 
did  in  fact  omit  the  third  act.  At  that  time, 
however,  the  present  conclusion,  which  is  a  revised 
version,  did  not  exist.  The  original  piece,  writ- 
ten for  the  Theatre  Libre,  had  a  cynical  ending. 
Blanchette  became  the  mistress  of  young  Galoux, 
and  when  her  father,  who  had  had  bad  luck,  was 
about  to  have  his  mortgage  foreclosed,  she  re- 
turned in  a  fine  carriage  and  gave  him  financial 
assistance.  It  was  due  chiefly  to  Sarcey's  influ- 
ence that  Brieux  decided  to  change  the  third  act. 
What  made  a  pleasanter  conclusion  possible  was 
the  young  woman's  upright  character,  just  as  the 
spirit  of  pride  and  independence  with  which  she 
was  endowed  contributed  to  her  moral  preserva- 
tion. In  view  of  these  facts,  the  virtuous  life 
that  Blanchette  leads  amidst  so  many  temptations 
and  her  subsequent  humble  attitude,  are  not 
entirely  improbable.  But  in  view  of  this  very 
strength  of  character,  her  failure  to  succeed  in 
Paris  does  not  seem  so  probable. 

In  most  respects  of  workmanship,  Blanchette 
is  far  superior  to  Menages  d' Artistes.  To  be  sure, 
we  have  seen  that  here  again  is  a  faulty  ending; 
but  then,  it  is  a  commonplace  of  criticism  that 
one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  of  any  writer  is  to 
conclude.     Few  plays  have  an  impeccable  con- 


The  Declasses  79 

elusion.  In  a  play  like  Blanchette^  the  details  of 
the  conclusion  anyway  are  of  secondary  impor- 
tance to  the  lesson.  Since  the  heroine  escapes 
prostitution  only  by  renouncing  her  dreams  of 
splendour,  the  lesson  is  not  lost. 

In  the  exposition  of  the  play,  on  the  contrary 
— here  largely  a  mosaic  of  the  little  touches  that 
make  up  the  milieu — Brieux  shows  finer  art  than  , 
before.  Already  at  this  stage  of  his  dramatic 
career  he  is  a  finished  artist.  We  understand 
clearly  who  Rousset  is,  why  he  has  given  his 
daughter  an  education,  and  why  he  is  furious 
over  his  disappointment.  Blanchette's  aristocratic 
plans  and  her  father*s  determination  not  to  toler- 
ate a  grand  lady  in  his  house  indicate  the  conflict 
that  must  follow  unless  the  Counsellor  can  arrange 
the  matter  with  the  Prefect.^ 

As  to  characterization,  the  recent  drama  offers 
nothing  superior  to  ''pere  Rousset."  Admirable 
throughout,  he  does  not  say  or  do  anything  to 
mar  the  dramatic  illusion.  H.  Pradales  says  of 
him:  ^'7/  est  vrai  et  il  est  complet;  tout  le  rural  actual 

^  La  MiocJie  Doree  (1906),  a  five-act  drama  by  A.  Lemonnier 
and  L.  Pericaud,  treats  the  same  theme  as  Blanchette.  A  peas-  ' 
ant,  "le  pere  Rousset,"  has  given  his  daughter,  Marie,  an  educa- 
tion above  her  social  station.  Marie,  who  has  a  big  dowry, 
marries  a  good-for-nothing  Count,  the  cousin  of  Berthe,  her 
school  chum.  Although  unhappy  with  her  titled  husband, 
who  makes  love  to  Berthe,  the  young  declassee  does  not  leave  him, 
for  fear  he  will  take  her  child  from  her.  When,  however,  the 
Count  has  run  through  her  dowry,  he  commits  suicide.  Marie 
now  returns  to  her  father's  home,  at  liberty  to  marry  Jean 
Robin,  a  peasant  who  has  loved  her  from  youth. 


Brieux  and  French  Society 

est  Id.,^'^  This  is  an  unusual  tribute  to  Brieux; 
for  of  all  classes  the  peasant  is  admitted  to  be 
the  most  difficult  to  penetrate  psychologically. 
Augier,  Dumas,  and  Sardou  never  ventured  to 
concern  themselves  with  him.  Critics  are  agreed 
that  Zola's  peasants  have  never  existed;  and 
Balzac's  depressing  exaggerations,  owing  to  his 
lack  of  sympathy  for  the  peasant,  are  as  mis- 
leading as  George  Sand's  idealizations.  While 
not  confining  himself  to  any  particular  region, 
like  a  Theuriet,  a  Pouvillon,  a  Ferdinand  Fabre, 
Brieux  has  created  a  veritable  synthetic  type  of 
upper-class  peasant. 

;  Mme.  Rousset,  also,  is  true  to  life,  though  she  is 
overshadowed  by  her  husband.  But  the  heroine, 
as  already  hinted,  is  much  less  lifelike  than  her 
parents.  Certain  of  her  air  castles  may  well 
have  been  suggested  to  her  by  the  author  himself, 
who  emphasizes  too  much  her  enmii  and  her 
boarding-school  frivolity.  Blanchette's  plans  for 
transforming  the  cabaret  seem  natural  enough, 
but  her  interest  in  books  on  agriculture  and 
economics  surprises  us,  for  she  seems  to  have  ac- 
quired very  different  tastes  at  school.  Such  books 
would  harmonize  poorly  with  her  salon  Louis  XV, 
No,  Blanchette's  character  is  not  consistent. 
At  times,  in  the  matter  of  obtaining  a  position, 
she  is  entirely  helpless  and  without  ambition; 
again  she  possesses  the  initiative  and  independent 
spirit   of   the    ''new   woman."     Antoine   Benoist 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  14,  1901. 


The  Declasses  8i 

asserts  that  her  character  is  purely  conventional,  ^ 
and  Emile  Faguet  points  out  that  girls  who  take 
up  the  teachers'  profession  usually  have  none  of 
Blanchette's  illusions,  since  they  know  that  they 
must  begin  at  a  low  salary.  However,  a  dramatist 
does  not  necessarily  choose  a  type  representative 
of  an  entire  class.  As  Mr.  Clayton  Hamilton 
has  said,  ^  the  social  drama  sets  forth  a  struggle 
between  a  radical  exception  and  a  conservative 
rule,  the  dramatist's  business  being  merely  to 
tell  the  truth  about  certain  special  characters 
involved  in  certain  special  situations.  The  heroes 
and  the  heroines  of  Dumas  fils  are  nearly  all 
exceptional,  though  each  is  quite  possible.^ 
Blanchette's  actions,  after  all,  are  by  no  means 
impossible.  ^ 

Much  as  the  declasses  have  attracted  the  atten- 

^  Le  Theatre  cfAujourd'hui,  \,  218. 

*  "The  ]Mod.  Soc.  Drama,"  Forum,  Sept.,  1908. 

3  But  a  dramatist  should  avoid  exceptional  characters  if  he 
wishes  to  give  a  true  image  of  manners. 

4  Le  Pere  Perdrix,  1903,  a  novel  by  C.  L.  Philippe,  has  numer- 
ous features  in  common  with  Blancheite.  A  blacksmith,  Bousset, 
sends  his  son,  Jean,  through  college,  in  order  to  make  him  into 
a  high-salaried  bourgeois.  Like  Rousset,  he  is  exceedingly 
proud  of  his  son's  attainments.  Like  Rousset,  too,  he  reminds 
Jean  of  his  financial  sacrifices.  Jean  succeeds  in  obtaining  a 
position,  which,  however,  he  loses  at  the  end  of  one  year.  Now 
that  he  has  become  a  "dead  expense"  at  home,  his  father,  like 
Brieux's  peasant,  soon  lets  him  hear  the  price  of  table  board. 
After  a  quarrel,  Jean  goes  to  live  with  "le  pere  Perdrix,"  a  sort 
of  hermit.  Nothing  further  is  said  about  his  education,  for  the 
reason  that  M.  Philippe  prefers  to  give  his  novel  a  humorous, 
ironical  tone  rather  than  to  discuss  social  theories. 

6 


82         Brieux  and  French  Society 

tion  of  French  men  of  letters,  Brieux's  theme  is 
original.  Blanchette  for  the  first  time  in  French 
Hterature  presents  the  unclassed  as  victims  of 
economic  conditions  resulting  from  a  misunder- 
standing, in  regard  to  public  instruction,  between 
the  State  and  the  short-sighted  ambition  of  its 
peasantry.  To  be  sure,  several  years  before, 
Theuriet  had  depicted  in  his  novel,  Michel  Ver- 
neuil  (1883),  the  failure  of  a  peasant's  son  who 
endeavours  to  mount  too  high  through  education. ' 
But  Theuriet  failed  to  realize  the  seriousness  of 
the  question.  At  the  time,  indeed,  few  writers 
did  realize  it,  or  what  a  Httle  later  students  of 
social  problems  began  to  call  the  responsibility 
of  society. 

One  of  the  underlying  causes  of  this  misun- 
derstanding which  Brieux  considers,  is  Rousset's 
folly  of  expecting  too  much  from  the  Government. 
This  delusion  is  a  heritage  of  the  French  people 

*  Vemeuil,  a  peasant  of  Lorraine,  led  to  believe  that  his  son 
can  obtain  a  government  position  that  will  pay  better  than 
farming,  sends  the  boy,  Michel,  through  college.  Thanks  to 
diligence  and  intelligence,  Michel  advances,  notwithstanding 
the  jeers  of  his  polished  classmates,  till  he  is  appointed  to  a 
lycee  professorship  in  Tours,  where  he  succeeds  brilliantly,  in 
spite  of  his  uncouth  peasant  manners,  which  do  not  seem  shock- 
ing to  the  provincials.  Determined  to  make  his  mark  in  the 
world,  the  former  peasant  boy  obtains  a  substitute  professor- 
ship at  the  Sorbonne,  but  here  he  fails  lamentably  for  want  of 
tact,  refinement,  and  culture.  His  lectures  are  too  heavy  for 
Parisian  stomachs.  Discouraged  and  humiliated,  the  declasse 
returns  to  his  provincial  home,  cursing  the  mania  that  impels 
the  children  of  peasants  to  abandon  the  farm  in  the  hope  of 
becoming  bourgeois. 


The  Declasses  83 

dating  from  the  absolute  rule  of  their  kings,  which 
stifled  individual  initiative  and  accustomed  every- 
one to  regard  the  State  as  his  necessary  protector. ' 

Today,  as  formerly  [says  Hugues  Le  Roux]  the 
man  with  a  parchment  summons  the  sovereign  (the 
State)  to  provide  a  living  for  him.  Conde  joined 
the  Spaniards  against  the  King:  the  physician  with- 
out patients,  the  lawyer  without  clients,  the  engineer 
without  a  factory  march  with  the  disorderly  element 
against  the  State. 

Le  Roux  likens  the  various  diplomas  of  today 
to  former  titles,  and  says  that  the  State  must 
provide  for  persons  holding  degrees  just  as  it 
formerly  had  to  provide  for  the  nobility.  ^  Gabriel 
Seailles  speaks  of  the  reputation  of  the  French 
people  for  maldng  the  State  a  providence  and 
treating  it  as  the  savages  do  their  fetiches,  which 
they  cover  wdth  insults  and  blows  if  their  prayers 
are  not  answered  at  once.^ 

A  striking  instance  of  this  attitude  of  the  people 
was  seen  a  few  years  ago  during  the  vine-growers* 
disturbances.     Owing  chiefly  to  overproduction, 

^  Emile  Faguet  obsen^es:  "We  owe  this  failing  to  two  centuries 
of  brilliant  despotism,  which  led  us  to  think  that  as  individuals 
we  were  of  no  consequence,  that  everything  was  done  by  all, 
without  our  cooperation."  VHorreur  des  Responsahilites, 
p.  199.  CJ.:  A.  Fouillee,  La  France  au  point  de  vue  moral,  p.  3; 
P.  Bourget,  Essais  de  psych,  contemp.y  i,  253;  Due  de  Broglie, 
Etude  de  Litt.  et  de  Morale,  p.  103. 

'  Nos  Fils  que  Jeront-ils  ? 

3  "Le  Droit  du  Peuple  a  I'lnstruction,"  Rev.  BleuCf  Nov.  27, 
1897. 


84         Brieux  and  French  Society 

as  impartial  authorities  maintained,  the  price  of 
wine  no  longer  paid  the  cost  of  vintage.  In  their 
distress,  the  inhabitants  of  the  V\^ine-producing 
departments  of  southern  France  demanded  that 
the  Government  come  to  their  rescue,  and,  to 
enforce  their  demands,  they  organized  huge 
mass- meetings  in  1907,  threatening  to  break  away 
from  northern  France.  Urbain  Gohier  reports 
as  follows  an  interview  during  this  time  with  a 
prominent  vine-grower  of  the  South: 

Why  are  your  departments  in  revolt? — Because 
they  want  to  compel  the  Government,  Parliament, 
the  State,  to  put  an  end  to  the  crisis  from  which  we 
are  suffering. — By  what  means? — By  taking  measures. 
— What  measures? — That's  the  Government's  busi- 
ness.   Let  it  hasten  to  save  us,  else  we  will  not  disarm.  ^ 

Odd  as  it  seems  that  the  State  should  be  held 
responsible  for  such  an  economic  depression,  the 
pretensions  of  these  vine-growers  are,  after  all, 
not  more  unreasonable  than  those  of  "pere  Rous- 
set,**  for  his  daughter  has  been  acknowledged 
eligible  to  teach  only  if  her  services  are  needed. 

We  must  not  accuse  Brieux,  in  maintaining  in 
Blanchette  that  peasants  who  give  their  children 
an  education  may  unclass  them  and  do  them  in- 
justice, of  condemning  education  in  itself.  His 
own  brilliant  achievements  refute  this  accusation. 
But  because,  as  a  general  principle,  it  is  legitimate 

^  Quoted  from  Le  Reveilj  by  A.  Sech^,  Le  Desarroi  de  la  Consc. 
fr.t  p.  160. 


The  Declasses  85 

for  one  peasant  girl  to  try  to  rise  above  her  class 
through  education,  it  does  not  follow  that  all 
should  be  encouraged  to  do  the  same.  The  matter 
requires  judgment,  common  sense,  and  a  just 
estimate  of  one's  capacity.^  Only  an  intellec- 
tually superior  girl  should  undertake  to  rise  to 
a  higher  social  station,  and  she  must  be  sure  how 
superior  she  is.  Although  Blanchette  was  supe- 
rior to  most  of  the  girls  in  her  canton,  on  the 
Prefect's  application-books  hundreds  of  other 
girls'  names  were  registered  ahead  of  hers.^  This 
is  no  exaggeration  of  actual  conditions.  Taine 
in  1890,  after  quoting  the  statistics  in  the  Journal 
des  Dehats^  to  the  effect  that  in  the  department  of 
Seine  there  were  7139  female  applicants  for  fifty- 
four  vacant  positions,  concluded:  "Thus  7085 
of  these  young  women,  who  have  been  educated 
and  given  diplomas,  not  being  able  to  obtain 
positions,  must  resign  themselves  to  marriage  with 
a  labourer  or  serve  as  household  maids,  and  so  they 
are  tempted  to  become  women  of  the  street." ^ 

'  "Tout  6tre  a  droit  de  chercher  a  s'elever  au  dessus  de  sa 
condition  et  de  son  milieu  d'origine,  pourvu  qu'il  soit,  par  le 
coeur  et  I'esprit,  supcrieur  a  ce  milieu  et  a  cette  condition." 
Marquis  de  Segur,  reply  to  Brieux's  Discours  de  Reception. 

^  These  applicants  were  doubtless  from  the  bourgeoisie. 
Emile  Faguet  declares  that  the  infatuation  of  the  lov/er  bour- 
geoisie for  the  teacher's  diploma  is  analogous  to  the  mania  of 
the  common  people  for  the  dressmakers'  trade.  "Metiers 
Fern.,"  Rev.  Bleiie,  March  5,  1904. 

3  Sept.  16. 

4  Origines,  Reg.  Mod.,  ii,  290. 

Much  the  same  view  is  taken  by  Jules  Rochard,  who  after 


S6         Brieux  and  French  Society 

While  it  is  discouraging  that  Blanchette's  merit 
was  not  rewarded,  merit  is  only  one  factor — and 
not  always  the  most  important — in  the  complex 
mechanism  of  society.  Gustave  Lanson,  speaking 
of  young  people's  misconception  of  this  fact,  says: 

They  have  been  told  that  talent  leads  to  every- 
thing, and  they  possess  talent.  They  have  been  told 
that  social  superiority  follows  intellectual  superiority, 
and  they  are  intellectually  superior.  But  when  they 
encounter  the  harsh  realities  of  the  world,  they  find 
all  positions  taken,  Les  parentes,  les  protections, 
Vargent,  Vintrigue  ont  pousse  et  poussent  devant  eux 
des  mediocriies  dans  tous  les  emplois.  Nos  esprits 
superieurs  crevent  de  faim.  Uhomme  superieur  re- 
devient  un  animal  de  proief^ 

remarking  that  all  French  girls,  it  seems,  are  brought  up  for  the 
teachers'  profession,  declares  that  it  is  imperative  to  free  the 
daughters  of  rich  families  from  the  diploma  mania,  and  to  make 
poor  girls  realize  the  folly  of  sacrificing  everything  for  a  parch- 
ment of  so  little  value.  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  i,  1888.  Cf.  E. 
Rod,  Au  Milieu  du  Chemin  (1900),  p.  26. 

Similar  is  the  situation  in  higher  education,  if  we  should 
believe  Maurice  Barres,  who  says:  "At  the  present  time  [i.  e.,  in 
1897],  there  are  730  licencies  de  lettres  or  de  sciences  seeking 
appointment  as  teachers.  They  regard  their  diploma  as  a 
promissory  note  of  the  State.  And  how  many  positions  avail- 
able? Six  each  year.  This  situation  discourages  neither  the 
young  men  nor  the  University.  There  are  350  licence  and  agre- 
gation  Fellows.  That  is,  the  State  contracts  350  new  obliga- 
tions, although  it  has  at  its  disposal  only  six  positions  which 
are  already  sought  by  730  applicants."  (Les  Deracines,  ch.  v.) 
Gaston  Deschamps  makes  the  same  complaint.  Le  Malaise 
de  la  Democratie  (1899),  p.  272. 

^  Hist,  de  la  Litt.  Jr.,  loth  ed.,  p.  994. 


The  Declasses  87 

In  essentially  the  same  proportion  that  Brieux 
fixes  the  responsibility,  as  between  society  and 
the  individual,  for  the  moral  ruin  of  young  people 
who  have  been  unclassed  in  endeavouring  to  rise 
socially  by  means  of  education,  we  find  the  blame 
apportioned  by  Edouard  Estaunie  in  Le  Ferment 
(1899).  In  theme  this  novel  bears  a  striking 
resemblance  to  Blanchette,  but  Estaunie,  no  more 
than  Brieux,  would  decry  education.^  The  "fer- 
ment" in  question  is  the  restless,  effervescent  in- 
telligence of  the  children  of  labourers  and  peasants, 
who  have  received  too  much  education  to  be 
content  in  their  own  social  class. 

Julien  Dartot,  the  son  of  a  peasant,  having 
completed  the  three  years'  scientific  course  at  the 
Ecole  Centrale,  receives  the  usual  diploma,  from 
which  he  expects  wonderful  results,  for  he  has 
studied  conscientiously  and  is  one  of  the  best 
graduates  turned  out  by  the  institution.  But  to 
his  surprise  he  is  everywhere  refused  employment 
because  his  theoretical  knowledge  is  worthless 
without  practical  experience.^  Employers  tell 
him  that  "a  diploma  crowns  every  education." 

^  Robert  Perceval,  in  his  famous  speech  before  the  French 
Parliament,  includes  with  the  abuses  and  delusions  from  which 
France  is  suffering  "faulty  education,  which  unclasses  its  citi- 
zens."    Louis  Lefevre,  Robert  Perceval,  p.  295. 

^  "  The  young  men  have  taken  courses,  masticated  and  re- 
masticated  text-books,  summarized  summaries,  committed 
formulas  to  memory.  Their  education  has  been  all  in  one 
direction;  they  have  had  no  apprenticeship."  Taine,  Origines, 
Reg.  Mod.,  ii,  272. 


88         Brieux  and  French  Society 

While  young  Dartot  is  trying  to  make  his  way 
in  Paris  as  a  tutor,  his  father,  who  has  invested 
money  in  the  boy*s  education  as  one  invests 
capital  in  a  promising  enterprise,  visits  him  and, 
Hke  Blanchette's  father,  demands  a  reimbursing 
installment.^  This  forces  Julien  to  accept  work 
at  a  low  salary  in  a  Belgian  sugar  refinery  where 
differences  with  his  employer  and  quarrels  with 
other  employes  soon  render  his  situation  intoler- 
able. Success,  however,  is  near.  The  unexpected 
death  of  his  father  puts  him  in  possession  of 
some  funds.  He  returns  to  Paris,  where  he  ruins 
a  merchant  marine  company  and  transforms 
the  business  into  a  new  establishment  of  which 
he  is  the  head.  The  peasant's  son  has  now  "ar- 
rived," but  at  what  moral  sacrifice!  He  curses 
the  memory  of  his  father  for  his  vanity  in  making 
a  bourgeois  of  him  instead  of  keeping  him  on  the 
farm.  ^ 

Le  Ferment  lays  bare  the  same  social  evils  as 
Blanchette,  though  there  is  a   threatening  social- 

^  This  stock  feature  of  peasant  greed  is  depicted  with  revolt- 
ing brutahty  in  Le  Rouge  et  le  Noir  (ch.  Ixxiv),  where  the  father 
demands  payment  from  his  son,  who  is  in  prison  pending  his 
execution. 

^  In  his  melodrama,  Roulehosse  le  Saltimhanqiie  (1899),  Charles 
Esquier  satirizes  the  folly  of  giving  children  a  useless  education. 
A  showman's  son,  who  has  received  a  higher  education,  becomes 
a  gambler  and,  in  the  hope  of  marrying  a  wealthy  widow,  calls 
himself  a  baron,  disowning  his  honest  father.  When  the  in- 
furiated father  exposes  his  titled  son,  the  young  spendthrift  re- 
proaches him  for  giving  him  a  useless  education,  which  has  placed 
a  gulf  between  them. 


The  Ddclassds  89 

istic  aspect  in  Estaunie^s  novel  which  has  no 
counterpart  in  Brieux's  drama.  ^  Estaunie's 
declasses — even  the  few  who  survive  the  struggle 
and  win  a  place  in  the  sun — are  so  embittered 
over  their  moral  degradation  and  their  surrender 
of  conscience  that  they  have  only  contempt  for 
the  rights  of  others.  Determined  to  stay  on  top 
at  all  costs,  they  consider  life  "a  game  of  chance 
in  which  everyone  risks  his  existence."^  More- 
over, "the  same  hatred  united  all  of  these  persons 

^  The  prototype  of  Estaunid's  hero — even  to  his  Christian 
name — was  furnished  by  Stendhal  in  Le  Rouge  et  le  Noir  (1831). 
Julien  Sorel,  the  son  of  a  peasant,  is  destined  for  the  priesthood; 
but  a  haison  with  his  patron's  wife  having  necessitated  his  flight, 
he  becomes  secretary  to  a  nobleman  in  Paris,  whose  daughter 
falls  in  love  with  him,  notwithstanding  her  rank.  After  their 
illicit  relations  have  resulted  in  irreparable  harm,  Julien  returns 
to  the  scene  of  his  provincial  liaison  and  tries  to  kill  his  former 
patron's  wife,  whom  he  accuses  of  slander.  For  this  attempted 
homicide  he  is  sentenced  to  death,  in  spite  of  the  intercession  of 
his  former  mistresses,  because  of  his  bold  speech  to  the  reac- 
tionary jury  under  Charles  X.  Here  the  young  declasse  says: 
"I  have  not  the  honour  of  belonging  to  your  social  class.  I  am 
a  peasant  in  revolt  against  the  injustices  of  my  lot.  But  even 
if  I  were  less  guilty,  my  judges  would  punish  in  me  and  dis- 
courage forever  this  class  of  young  men  who,  born  in  an  inferior 
rank  and  oppressed  by  poverty,  have  the  good  fortune  to  obtain 
an  education,  and  the  audacity  to  mingle  with  what  rich  people 
call  *  society.'  "  This  quotation  shows  a  certain  resemblance 
between  the  theme  of  Le  Rouge  et  le  Noir  and  that  of  Blaiichette 
and  Le  Ferment,  though  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  Stendhal 
had  in  view  the  same  end  as  his  younger  compatriots.  His 
object  was  to  combat  the  prejudices  that  prevented  a  peasant 
from  rising  socially,  rather  than  to  sound  a  note  of  warning 
against  his  attempt  to  rise. 

"  Le  Ferment,  p.  329. 


90         Brieux  and  French  Society 

against  the  State,  which  had  produced  them. 
Whether  victors  or  vanquished,  all  regarded 
themselves  as  dupes  and  demanded  vengeance."^ 

Paul  Bourget,  in  his  novel  UEtape  {The  Step, 
1 901),  carries  on  the  theme  of  Blanchette  and  Le 
Ferment,  with  emphasis  on  the  necessity  of  reli- 
gious education  and  gradual,  traditional  develop- 
ment. Whoever  attempts  to  jump  an  intermediate 
cultural  stage  in  his  development,  invariably 
pays  the  penalty  by  becoming  a  deracine  as  well 
as  a  declasse.  ^  The  story  is  of  two  lycee  professors, 
Monneron  and  Ferrand. 

Monneron,  the  son  of  a  peasant,  having  re- 
ceived a  university  education,  rises  by  dint  of 
perseverance  and  merit,  and  brings  up  a  family 
of  four  children,  three  sons  and  a  daughter.  For 
thirty  years  he  discharges  his  duties  faithfully 
in  one  of  the  lycees  of  Paris. 

Monneron's  life,  as  seen  from  this  sketch,  would 
seem  ideal,  but  unfortunately  disintegrating  forces 
have  been  at  work  in  his  family.  Since  he  cor- 
dially detests  religion,  particularly  the  Catholic 

^  Le  Ferment,  p.  336. 

^  Fifteen  years  earlier,  in  Un  Crime  d' Amour  (ch.  iii),  Bourget 
showed  that,  in  spite  of  two  generations  of  culture,  an  authentic 
bourgeois  may  be  betrayed  by  his  peasant  ancestry.  And  re- 
cently in  speaking  of  Frangois  Copp6e,  he  wrote:  "Nobody 
more  than  this  celebrated  son  of  a  poor  employ^,  who  had 
mounted  so  rapidly  to  the  ranks  of  the  bourgeoisie,  was  per- 
suaded of  the  dangers  that  a  too  rapid  social  rise  carries  with  it." 
Then  Bourget  describes  Copp^e's  denunciation  of  la  demi- 
instruction  and  the  attempt  to  make  "quarter-bourgeois"  of  the 
peasantry  and  the  working  class.     Pages  de  CriL,  i,  279. 


The  Declasses  91 

faith,  he  has  given  his  children  no  reHgious  in- 
struction. Then,  too,  his  wife  is  extravagant 
and  vulgar.  Owing  to  these  causes,  three  of  his 
children  go  to  the  bad,  though  they  have  received 
a  good  education.  The  second  son,  Jean,  now 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  is  the  ''pick  of  the  lot.'* 
Sober  and  chaste,  he  takes  after  his  father,  even 
to  his  liking  for  classical  studies  and  philosophy. 

Jean  is  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  the  other 
lycee  professor,  Ferrand,  a  man  of  solid  religious 
culture,  who  demands  that  he  consent  to  a  mar- 
riage' by  the  Church.  Owing  to  his  father's 
opposition,  the  young  suitor  cannot  accept  this 
condition.^  In  the  end,  however,  Monneron, 
grieved  by  domestic  misfortune,  and  realizing 
the  failure  of  his  life,  consents  to  a  religious 
marriage. 

The  chief  cause  of  his  father's  failure,  as  pointed 
out  to  Jean  by  Ferrand,  is  that  Monneron,  the 
son  of  a  peasant,  has  undertaken  to  found  a 
bourgeois  family  in  a  single  generation,  in  de- 
fiance of  the  laws  of  natural  development.  In 
the  final  dehdcle  of  his  family,  the  grief-stricken 
Monneron  cannot  understand  why  those  of  his 
children  who  have  gone  wrong  should  have  dis- 
graced his  grey  hairs;  they  ought  to  have  done 
him  credit  for  making  bourgeois  of  them  instead 

^  In  Sardou's  Daniel  Rockat  the  dramatic  conflict  arises  out  of 
the  hero's  refusal  to  consent  to  a  religious  marriage.  A  similar 
situation  is  portrayed  by  Anatole  France  in  Ulle  des  Pingouins, 
Book  VII,  ch.  iv. 


92         Brieux  and  French  Society 

of  peasants.  'As  an  explanation,  Jean  merely 
repeats  to  his  father  our  author's  refrain:  "We 
were  not  sufficiently  prepared  for  what  we  have 
become."^ 

This  mania  for  social  climbing,  in  its  relation 
to  education,  forms  the  theme  of  two  other  recent 
novels  which,  though  by  authors  less  known  than 
those  whom  we  have  considered,  are  works  of 
merit.  The  one,  Mattre  Lardent  {The  Notary, 
1899),  is  from  the  pen  of  C.  Leroux-Cesbron ; 
the  other,  Vlnqiiiet  {The  Unhappy  Student y 
1900),  is  by  S.  Cornut. 

Vlngidet  tells  the  story  of  Jacques  Malpart, 
who  has  been  sent  to  college  by  his  father,  a 
peasant,  "that  he  may  learn  Latin  and  earn  a 
good  salary."^  In  Paris  Jacques  studies  faith- 
fully, but  he  always  fails  in  the  final  examina- 
tions, because  he  lacks  a  basis  of  culture.  To 
make  his  lot  still  more  unpleasant,  his  brothers 
at  home  both  envy  and  despise  him,  though  quite 
unjustly,  for  as  a  boy  Jacques  had  simple  tastes 
and  desired  only  to  stay  on  the  farm.  It  is  to 
his  vain  father  that  he  owes  his  misfortunes. 

M.  Cornut  paints  in  sombre  colours  the  misery 
of   the   victims   of   education.     He   asserts   that 

^  D.  ParodI,  an  anti-traditionalist,  observes  sarcastically: 
"One  must  be  a  rich  descendant  of  several  generations  of  bour- 
geois who  have  bridged  the  social  gap,  before  one  has  a  right  to 
education."     Traditionalisme  et  Democratie,  p.  89. 

*"A  French  father  cannot  decide  to  make  a  farmer  of  his  son 
unless  he  deems  him  incapable  of  undertaking  any  other  career." 
E.  Demolins,  La  Superiorite  des  Anglo-Saxons. 


The  Declasses  93 

such  declasses  are  the  most  pitiable  of  all,  since  at 
best  they  can  become  only  "tutors,  without  hope  of 
ever  getting  out  of  the  prison  in  which  they  are  at 
the  same  time  convicts  and  convict  guards,**  while 
the  less  fortunate  beg  or  starve.  ^  Young  Malpart 
sometimes  meets  in  the  filthiest  dens  former  ^'cam- 
Grades  de  la  licence  tout  cJievronnes  de  diplomes,'"^ 
Like  Julien  Dartot  in  Le  Ferment,  he  conceives  an 
implacable  hatred  for  the  existing  social  order. 

Much  the  same  are  the  bitter  experiences 
of  M.  Leroux-Cesbron*s  declasse,  Lardent,  a 
peasant,  decides  that  his  son,  Frangois,  shall  be 
a  notary.  At  the  lycee  everybody  makes  fun  of 
the  boy  because  of  his  rural  jargon  and  peasant 
manners;  but  he  ''digs"  tenaciously,  completes 
the  course,  and  buys  a  notary's  practice.  His 
father  does  not  fail  to  let  him  hear  how  much  his 
education  has  cost  him,  but  death  prevents  him 
from  demanding  reimbursement. 

"Maitre  Lardent'* — that  is,  our  young  notary 
— now  lives  near  the  Dumeliers,  a  family  of  pro- 

^  L'Inquiet,  p.  241. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  224.  The  object  of  Jules  Valles  in  writing  L' Enfant 
(1879),  Le  Bachelier  (1881),  ULisurge  (1886)  was  to  show  that 
the  inevitable  result  of  the  present  system  of  French  education 
was  to  make  poverty  only  the  harder  to  bear.  Jacques  Vingtras, 
the  hero  of  these  three  novels,  satirizes,  taunts,  and  ridicules 
his  father,  a  pedagogue,  who  has  left  the  plough  and  is  determined 
to  make  a  teacher  of  him  against  his  will.  (C/.  ed.  19 14:  U Enfant, 
pp.  6,  61,  169,  377;  L'Insurge,  p.  i.)  In  Les  Refractaires  (p. 
217),  an  earlier  work,  Valles  makes  his  starving  "giant  graduate" 
say:  "I  have  gone  through  college,  I  have  my  degree  and  speak 
five  languages." 


94      .   Brieux  and  French  Society 

vincial  aristocracy,  whose  son,  Andre,  he  has 
known  at  the  lycee.  Andre  induces  Frangiois 
to  lend  him  a  large  sum  money  to  establish  a 
creamery,  half  promising  him  the  hand  of  his 
sister.  Georgette.  But  Frangois  is  too  unpolished. 
"Poor  Lardent,'*  the  girl  says,  "will  always  have 
peasant  manners."  The  failure  of  the  creamery 
and  Lardent's  quarrel  with  the  Dumeliers,  who 
treat  him  like  a  lackey,  make  his  disillusion  com- 
plete and  convince  him  that  he  has  been  unclassed 
through  education. 

In  all  the  works  which  we  have  analysed  that 
treat  of  the  unclassing  of  peasant  children,  the 
term  "peasant"  is  to  be  taken  in  reference  to 
the  labouring  classes  in  general.  There  are, 
however,  two  good  reasons  why  an  author  may 
prefer  to  take  his  characters  from  the  peasants 
proper,  that  is,  from  the  tillers  of  the  soil.  Not 
only  is  there  no  better  example  of  social  misfit 
than  a  peasant  in  a  new  environment,  but  such 
a  situation  suggests  serious  economic  conse- 
quences. In  the  novel.  La  Terre  Qui  Meurt  {The 
Ruin  of  Rural  France,  1898),  for  instance,  Rene 
Bazin  is  concerned  with  the  ruin  that  results  to 
the  country  from  emigration  to  the  city,  rather 
than  with  the  fate  of  the  declasses,  or  as  they  might 
be  called  in  this  case,  the  deracines.'^     He  does 

^  There  is  a  novel  with  this  title,  Les  Deracines  (1897),  t>y  Maur- 
ice Barres,  an  implacable  adversary  of  centralization.  He  deals 
both,  like  Brieux,  with  what  he  calls  the  State's  misconception  of 
education,  and  like  Bazin,  with  the  laws  of  political  economy. 


The  Declasses  95 

not  lay  the  blame  for  unclassing  upon  parents, 
but  he  shows  children  at  fault  for  abandoning 
the  farm.  So  he  does  (though  with  less  emphasis 
on  the  economic  aspect)  in  his  earlier  Les  Noellei 
{The  Noellet  Family,  1891),  the  story  of  a  pro- 
mising peasant  youth  who  studies  for  the  priest- 
hood but  fails  miserably.  The  boy  was  not  urged 
by  his  father  to  go  to  college,  but  chose  his  voca- 
tion of  his  own  free  will.  Or,  again,  as  in  Jules 
de  Glouvet's  VEtude  Chandoux  {Chandoux^s 
Notary  Practice,  1885),  in  w^hich  a  fond  peasant 
mother  sells  her  farm  and  moves  to  the  city  in 
the  vain  hope  of  making  a  notary  of  her  son, 
while  the  author  censures  the  folly  of  the  peasants, 
he  does  not,  like  Brieux  in  Blanchette,  stress  the 
abuses  of  education  and  the  responsibility  of  the 
State.  ^  The  special  point  may  vary,  then,  in 
works  dealing  with  the  declasses,  though  naturally 
in  all  of  them  some  important  character  is  a 
victim  of  social  folly. 

No  further  testimony  is  necessary  to  show  that 
in  Blanchette  Brieux  treats  a  theme  of  vital  inter- 
est. Nor  need  an  author  who  chooses  this  theme 
fear  that  it  will  soon  cease  to  be  vital.  Rather 
is  it  surprising  that  other  dramatists  should  have 
paid  so  little  attention  to  the  theme. 

In  this  subject  of  Blanchette,  Brieux  can  have 

^  In  La  Famille  Bourgeois  (1883),  Glouvet  depicts  the  spolia- 
tion of  a  well-to-do  country  spinster,  who  gives  her  nephew  and 
niece  a  fashionable  education,  only  to  discover  that  she  has 
caused  the  moral  ruin  of  the  two  young  declasses. 


96         Brieux  and  French  Society 

been  but  little  indebted  to  his  two  acknowledged 
masters  of  the  drama,  Dumas  and  Augier.  Dumas 
did  not  concern  himself  with  education,  ^  though 
Augier  did  somewhat.  Passages  in  two  of  his 
dramas,^  at  least,  make  clear  that  he  understood 
the  defects  of  modern  education.  Although  de- 
siring that  the  lower  classes  might  rise  to  the 
bourgeoisie,  he  realized  that  "a  family  of  house- 
porters  requires  more  than  one  generation  to  make 
a  breach  in  society;  that  the  vanguard  fall  in  the 
moat  and  must  with  their  bodies  make  a  bridge 
for  their  followers."^ 

Brieux,  a  more  "advanced''  thinker  than 
Augier — indeed  when  he  was  writing  Blanchette 
almost  a  socialist — probably  owes  what  unde- 
served reputation  he  has  acquired  as  an  adver- 
sary of  public  education  to  the  influence  of  Herbert 
Spencer  and  Tolstoy.  He  says  himself  ^  that 
Spencer  modelled  his  mind  when  he  was  young 
and  gave  it  the  direction  that  it  has  ever  since 
followed.  Now  in  education,  Spencer  represents 
essentially  the  ideas  of  Rousseau.  "  If  we  inquire," 
he  says,  "what  the  real  motive  is  for  giving  boys 

^  M.  Spronck,  Deux  Mondes,  Mar.  15,  1898.  I  do  not  know 
Lanson's  authority  for  the  assertion  that  "Dumas  attacks  the 
education  that  prepares  neither  man  nor  woman  for  domestic 
life,"  unless  it  is  U Affaire  Clemenceau. 

'  Page  75,  note  i. 

3  Le  Fils  de  Ciboyer,  i,  7.  The  theories  of  class-fusion,  as 
represented  by  such  writers  as  George  Sand,  Henri  de  Bornier, 
Georges  Ohnet,  are  beyond  the  scope  of  this  book. 

4  "Interview,"  Daily  Mail  (Paris  ed.),  Aug.  24,  1909. 


The  Declasses  97 

a  classical  education,  we  find  it  to  be  simply 
conformity  to  public  opinion.  Men  dress  their 
children's  minds  as  they  dress  their  bodies,  in 
the  prevailing  fashion."^  Spencer  pleads  for 
feeling  versus  intellect,  and  maintains  that  "the 
overvaluation  of  the  intelHgence  necessarily  has  for 
its  concomitant  undervaluation  of  the  emotional 
nature.'*  "Everywhere,"  he  exclaims,  "the  cry 
is:  Educate,  educate,  educate!  Every\\^here  the 
belief  is  that  by  such  culture  as  schools  furnish, 
children,  and  therefore  adults,  can  be  moulded 
into  the  desired  shapes."^  And  he  goes  on  to 
say  that,  were  it  fully  understood  that  the  emo- 
tions are  the  masters  and  the  intellect  the  servant, 
it  w^ould  be  seen  that  Httle  can  be  done  by  im- 
proving the  servant  while  the  masters  remain 
unimproved.  ^  Finally  he  relates  how  he  was  con- 
verted to  the  views  of  a  magistrate  in  Gloucester- 
shire. "It  had  shown  him,"  Spencer  says,  in 
explaining  the  magistrate's  experience,  "that 
education,  artificially  pressed  forward,  raising  in 
the  labouring  and  artisan  classes  ambitions  to 
enter  upon  higher  careers,  led  through  frequent 

^  Education,  ch.  i. 

'  Facts  and  Comments,  pp.  40-41.  It  is  especially  Jean 
Richepin,  of  the  French  dramatists  of  today,  who  advocates 
less  intellectual  culture.  Although  himself  a  strong  classical 
student,  he  pleads,  like  Rousseau,  for  the  simple  education 
of  primitive  man.     Cf.  Vers  la  Joie,  iii,  7. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  43.  This,  again,  is  Rousseau's  idea.  Herbert 
Spencer  disdained  imiversity  degrees  and  refused  to  seek  public 
office. 


98  Brieux  and  French  Society 

i  disappointments,  to  bad  courses  and  sometimes 
to  crime." ^ 

This  last  is  exactly  the  point  at  issue  in  Blan- 
chettej  and  Brieux  agrees  with  Spencer  only  in 
this  point.  He  does  not  condemn  classical  educa- 
j  tion;  he  merely  warns  against  education  out  of 
harmony  with  a  person's  station  in  life.  A  classi- 
cal education  may  be  as  legitimate  and  necessary 
for  one  person  as  more  practical  knowledge  for 
another.  He  nowhere  expresses  approval  of 
Spencer's  implacable  hostility  to  State  education.^ 

Nor  does  Brieux  share  Tolstoy's  Schopenhauer- 
Nietzsche  conception  of  the  education  of  women. 
Tolstoy,  who  might  also  be  called  a  disciple  of 
Rousseau,  is  not  only,  like  Spencer,  opposed  to 
State  education,  but  also  to  the  education^  of 
women  in  general,  at  least  in  its  present  form, 
the  sole  purpose  of  which  is  to  attract  men.^    If 

^  Fads  and  Comments,  p.  83. 

=»  Pierre  de  Coubertin,  an  eminent  authority  on  public  in- 
struction, favours  the  maintenance  of  three  distinct  grades 
of  education,  since  the  State  needs  three  classes  of  servants. 
Hence  one  class  of  citizens,  he  thinks,  should  content  themselves 
with  a  common-school  education.  Thus  M.  de  Coubertin  re- 
jects the  education  integrate  demanded  by  socialists  lilce  Georges 
Renard  and  Andr6  Lcf^vre — that  is,  one  and  the  same  education 
for  all  citizens.  {L' Education  Puhlique,  pp.  37,  311.)  Of  the 
same  opinion  is  A.  Fouill^e.  La  France  au  point  de  vue  moral, 
p.  206. 

5  What  Is  to  Be  Done?    Ch.  xxvli. 

4  The  Kreutzer  Sonata.  In  Mademoiselle  Jauffre  (1889), 
Marcel  Prdvost's  spokesman  declares  that  the  object  of  woman's 
education  should  be  to  prepare  her  for  marriage  and  mother- 
hood.    In   later   works,  however,    Marcel   Provost  has  become 


The  Declasses  99 

Brieux  owes  any  of  his  social  ideas  to  Tolstoy,  it 
is  not  his  conception  of  education,  but  certain  of 
his  notions  of  charity,  ^  justice,  ^  and  marriage.  ^ 

To  some  extent,  too,  at  the  date  of  Blanchette 
(1892),  Brieux  was  under  the  influence  of  radicals 
like  Anatole  France  and  Zola.  At  the  same  time 
he  shows  essentially  the  same  economic  results 
of  faulty  education  as  conservatives  like  Bourget 
and  Barres,  though  he  agrees  only  in  part  with 
them  regarding  the  causes  of  these  deplorable 
results  and  their  remedy.  He  is  a  sociologist 
with  broad  ideas  in  revolt  against  the  inconsist- 
encies of  a  society  which  gives  an  education 
that  distorts  the  intellectual  development  of  its 
citizens  and  does  not  prepare  them  for  the  duties 
of  Hfe.^  Blanchette,  be  it  repeated,  is  not  an  in- 
dictment of  education  in  itself,  but  of  the  illogical 
and  irresponsible  encouragement  of  faulty  educa- 
tion by  the  State.  Brieux's  other  plays  make 
clear  that  he  believes  that  society  should  utilize 
every  individual  according  to  his  aptitude,  and 
that  this  aptitude  should  be  developed  to  its 
maximum  through  education.  All  citizens  are  so 
many  social  values,  to  waste  any  portion  of  which 
is  folly,  s     Society  should  permit  all  its  members 

an  advanced  feminist.  Cf.  Les  Vierges  Fortes  (1900),  Lettres  cL 
Frangoise  (1902),  La  plus  Faible  (1904). 

'  Chapter  VII.  '  Chapter  XIII.  3  Chapter  IX. 

*  "Our  schools  form  graduates,  functionaries,  ofHcials,  bureau- 
crats; they  do  not  form  men  capable  of  taking  care  of  themselves." 
E.  Demolins,  La  Siiperiorite  des  Anglo-Saxons. 

5  In  tliis  he  agrees  with  Ferdinand  Buisson. 


100        Brieux  and  French  Society 

to  rise  to  the  plane  of  enlightened  humanity.* 
The  elite  should  be  reeruited  more  and  more  from 
the  broad  strata  of  demoeracy,  rejuvenated  more 
and  more  with  the  vigour  and  energy  of  the  masses. 
And  this  is  to  be  accomplished  b}'  the  right  kind 
of  education,  by  education  that  is  sensible  and 
reasonable.  Such  education  Brieux  believes  to 
be  after  their  daily  bread  the  greatest  need  of 
the  common  people. 

'  llc.ro  Brieux  agrees  wilh  Gabriel  S<5ailles. 


I 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  PARENTS  AND  CHILDREN 

La  Coiivee  (Brieux) — La  Sacrifiee  (Devore) — 
L'Envolee  (Devore) — La  Conscience  de  V  Enfant 
(Devore) — La  Course  du  Flambeau  (Hervieu) — 
Nous,  les  Meres  (Margueritte) — V Enfant  de  V 
Amour  (Bataille) — Papa  (Flers  and  Caillavet) 
— La  Peur  de  Vivre  (Bordeaux). 

THE  unreasonableness  of  Blanchette's  father 
towards  the  State  might  suggest  his  equal  un- 
reasonableness towards  his  child.  But  it  does  not 
follow  that  by  such  a  line  of  thought  Brieux  came 
to  the  subject  of  La  Couvee,  his  next  important 
work — domestic  education  in  France.  Between 
the  subjects  of  Brieux's  plays  it  is  impossible  to 
trace  continuity.  Apparently  when  he  had  ex- 
pressed his  ideas  on  one  social  problem,  it  was 
largely  chance  what  subject  he  should  treat  next. 
But  it  was  pretty  sure  to  be  another  of  impor- 
tance, and  we  shall  see  that  in  La  Couvee,  dealing 
with  the  relation  of  parents  and  children,  he  had 
good  reason  to  believe  that  he  had  found  such  a 
subject.  For  if  parental  authority  in  France  was 
formerly,  as  all  signs  seem  to  point,  too  severe, 
latterly    it    has    become  so  weakened   as  some- 

lOI 


loa       Brieux  and  French  Society 

times  to  threaten  grave  ills  to  over-indulged 
children. 

The  severity  of  paternal  authority  in  France 
was  native  to  the  soil,  and  not  of  Roman  origin. 
Caesar  tells  us  that  the  Gauls  of  his  time  did  not 
permit  their  sons  to  approach  them  until  they 
had  grown  to  manhood.  French  literature  of 
the  Middle  Ages  reflects  the  same  spirit:  above 
the  royal  majesty  towered  another  majesty  more 
inviolable  and  more  sacred,  that  of  the  paternal 
power.  ^  This  authority  no  son  dared  dispute 
with  impunity,  even  though  he  had  become  a 
mightier  lord  than  his  father.  Down  to  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  even  as 
late  as  the  Revolution,  particularly  among  the 
aristocracy,  French  children  were  kept  in  strict 
subordination.^  Parents  hardly  held,  or  at  least 
did  not  exercise,  the  power  of  life  and  death  over 
their  offspring;  but  for  disobedience  a  grown  son 
might  be  imprisoned  and  a  daughter  thrust  into 
a  convent.^ 

The  severe  discipline  of  the  seventeenth  century 
Vv'ould  be  dismissed  as  a  myth  if  it  were  not  his- 
torically authenticated.  According  to  Sarcey,  such 
a  situation  as  the  scene  in  which  a  son  has  his 
father  given   a  drubbing  by  his  valet,    Scapin, 

^  Saint-Marc  Girardin,  Cotirs  de  Litt.,  i,  305. 

=*  Herbert  Spencer,  Prin.  of  Ethics,  vol.  ii,  pt.  iv,  ch.  xxi. 

3  Rabelais  and  Montaigne  opposed  disciplinary  severity.  The 
latter  says:  "I  utterly  condemn  all  manner  of  violence  in  the 
education  of  a  young  spirit  brought  up  to  honour  and  liberty." 
Essais,  Bk.  11,  ch.  viii. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  103 

was  tolerated  and  enjoyed  only  because,  in  reality, 
paternal  authority  was  not  questioned.^  Nor 
was  it  in  most  families  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
Chateaubriand  writes:  "My  mother,  my  sister, 
and  I,  transformed  into  statues  by  my  father's 
presence,  used  to  recover  ourselves  only  after  he 
had  left  the  room."^  Taine  assures  us  that  a 
son  regularly  addressed  his  father  as  "  monsieur'' 
at  least  among  the  aristocracy,  and  that  a  daugh- 
ter would  come  "respectfully"  to  kiss  her  mother's 
hand  at  her  toilet.  Quoting  such  authorities 
as  Beaumarchais,  Mirabeau  (the  orator),  and 
Restif  de  la  Bretonne,  he  says  that  children, 
when  with  their  parents,  were  timid  and  silent.^ 
According  to  Legouve,  it  was  customary  for 
a  son  to  remove  his  hat  in  the  presence  of  his 
father.  ^ 

The  seventeenth  century,  which  was  interested 
primarily  in  the  activities  of  the  intellect  and  the 
reason,  paid  little  attention  to  children,  creatures 

'  Quarante  Ans  de  Thedtre,  vi,  253. 

^  Memoires,  July,  18 19.  Yet  Rene  makes  the  surprising  con- 
fession that  the  memory  of  his  father's  rigour  was  "almost 
agreeable"  to  him.     Ibid.,  June,  18 12. 

^  Ancien  Regime,  Bk.  ii,  ch.  ii.  After  Beaumarchais's  father 
had  "exiled"  him  by  a  ruse,  he  made  the  conditions  on  which 
the  future  author  of  Figaro  might  return:  "I  must  have  a  full 
and  entire  submission  to  my  wishes,  and  marked  respect  in 
words,  actions,  and  behaviour."  Addiessing  his  father  as 
"Monsieur  and  honoured  Father,"  young  Caron,  who  was 
about  eighteen,  accepted  humbly.  Louis  de  Lomenie,  BeaU' 
mar  chats  et  son  Temps,  i,  96. 

4  Les  Fils  d'Aujourdliiii  (1869),  p.  35. 


104       Brieux  and  French  Society 

guided  by  natural  impulses.^  But  dramatic 
literature  could  not  disregard  entirely  such  sub- 
jects as  paternal  authority,  filial  obedience,  and 
maternal  affection.  Corneille,  Rotrou,  Moliere, 
Racine,  all  made  some  use  of  them,  though  to  be 
sure  in  doing  so,  they  generally  represent  their 
''children"  as  beyond  the  years  of  childhood. 

Corneille's  types  like  Don  Diegue  and  the  elder 
Horace  represent  a  stern  but  noble  conception  of 
paternal  love.  Their  sober  affection  is  strongly 
tempered  with  sentiments  of  grandeur,  honour, 
and  hereditary  dignity.  According  to  Corneille, 
paternal  affection  should  not  be  a  passion,  but 
rather  a  duty.  It  is  duty  that  prompts  Horace 
to  threaten  his  son  with  death  for  cowardice.^ 
Similarly,  Rotrou's  Venceslas  condemns  one  of 
his  sons  to  death  for  slaying  the  other,  whereas 
Siroes  refuses  to  condemn  his  guilty  father.^ 
These  two  examples  from  Rotrou  illustrate  admir- 
ably the  seventeenth-century  conception  of  paternal 
and  filial  relations.  For  an  example  of  ideal  ma- 
ternal devotion,  we  need  only  recall  Andromaque. 

*  La  Fontaine  speaks  of  "un  fripon  d'enfant  (cet  dge  est  sans 
pitie"). 

'^  Corneille's  attitude  here  cannot  be  due  entirely  to  his  Roman 
subject,  for  in  Le  Menteur  he  takes  essentially  the  same  stand- 
point. 

3  The  son's  sentiments  are  embodied  in  the  lines: 
"Laisser  ravir  un  trone  est  une  lachete, 
Mais  en  chasser  un  pere  est  une  impiete." 
Or  again:  Cosrols,  i,  3. 

"Mais  je  sens,  quoique  roi,  que  je  suis  encore  fils." 

Ihid.^  iii,  3. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  105 

Among  the  few  dramatic  works  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  continue  the  tradition  of  the  classical 
period  regarding  family  relations,  may  be  men- 
tioned VOrphelin  de  la  Chine,  Merope,  and  Le 
Glorieux,  In  the  first  of  these,  Voltaire  argues 
that  a  mother  places  the  welfare  of  her  child 
above  every  other  consideration,  whereas  a  father 
will  sacrifice  his  child,  if  necessary,  to  save  his 
country.  In  Merope,  he  shows  the  purifying 
influence  of  maternal  love.^  The  vain  young 
count  satirized  by  Destouches  in  Le  Glorieux 
attempts  to  pass  his  honest  father  off  as  his 
intendant,  but  repents  when  humiliated. 

It  was  in  the  tearful  comedy  and  the  bourgeois 
tragedy  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  domestic 
family  relations  found  their  full  expression.  And 
it  was  at  this  same  time  that  the  majesty  of  paren- 
tal authority,  at  least  in  the  drama,  grew  notably 
less  awful.  Between  the  date  of  Ines  de  Castro 
(1723),  and  the  representation  of  Florian's  senti- 
mental comedies  (1790),  children  of  all  ages  were 
admitted  to  full  citizenship  in  the  drama.  ^  If 
French  fathers  were  as  sentimental  and  declama- 
tory as  the  drama  of  this  period  would  indicate, 
they  deserved  the  decline  of  their  authority.  As 
early  as  1728  Piron  sounded  a  note  of  warning  in 
Les  Fils  Ingrats;  and  in  1781  Mercier  wrote: 
*' Nothing  astonishes  a  foreigner  more  than  the 
impertinent  manner  in  which  a  son  speaks  to  his 

*  Victor  Hugo  treats  this  theme  in  Lucrece  Borgia. 
^  See  F.  Gaiffe,  Le  Drame  en  France  au  X  VHP  Siecle. 


io6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

father  here.  He  jokes  and  rallies  him,  makes 
disrespectful  remarks  about  his  age,  and  the 
father  has  the  regrettable  weakness  to  think  it 
funny.  "^ 

As  was  natural  with  the  ironical  people  that  pro- 
duced the  Fabliaux  and  the  Roman  de  Renart,  the 
French  had  always  delighted  in  satirizing  old 
men,  particularly  in  matters  of  love.  But  in  the 
second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  old 
spirit  of  mere  joking  ceased,  and  a  more  serious 
feeling  arose,  which  in  time  worked  irreparable 
injury  to  the  prestige  of  parents.  True,  if  a 
student  of  French  literature  were  asked  to  name 
the  man  of  letters  most  directly  responvsible  for 
the  dechne  of  filial  obedience,  he  would  naturally 
think  at  once  of  Moliere,  whom  Emile  Faguet 
has  called  the  scourge  of  old  age  and  ridicule.'' 
Certainly  no  other  French  writer  ever  mocked 
paternal  authority  so  pitilessly.  But  Moliere* s 
object  had  been  comic  effect  rather  than  social 
reform.  The  fathers  and  husbands  whom  he 
chose  as  targets  were  ridiculous  not  as  husbands 
and  fathers,  but  on  account  of  the  vices  that  dis- 
honoured them.  Rousseau,  failing  to  understand 
this,  charged  the  great  comic  poet  with  overturning 
the  sacred  foundation  of  society  by  deriding  the 

^  Tableau  de  Paris,  ch.  Iviil.  In  Restif  de  la  Bretonne  we 
read:  "Extreme  seventy  may  be  a  good  thing,  or  it  may  be  an 
evil;  but  the  excessive  indulgence  which  parents  have  had  for 
their  children  for  some  years,  is  always  bad."  La  Mere 
Severe. 

'  Culte  de  I' Incompetence,  p.  147. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  107 

venerable  rights  of  fathers  over  their  children.^ 
This  accusation  was  entirely  worthy  of  the  paradox 
philosopher;  for  in  reality  he  himself,  and  not 
Moliere,  must  be  regarded  as  the  chief  force  in 
the  debacle  of  parental  authority.  If  we  take  the 
Great  Revolution  as  the  turning  point,  we  find 
that,  in  the  relation  of  children  to  parents,  Rous- 
seau^s  influence  was  paramount,  not  only  imme- 
diately before  and  during  the  Revolution  of  1789, 
but  also  in  the  two  following  upheavals,  especially 
the  Revolution  of  1848.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  proclaim  the  emancipation  of  the  child  in  more 
emphatic  terms  than  those  used  in  the  first  two 
chapters  of  The  Social  Contract — that  in  "natural 
society"  (where  men  are  born  free)  children  are 
their  own  masters  and  exempt  from  all  filial 
obHgations  as  soon  as  their  need  of  sustenance 
ceases.^  Moreover,  the  pedagogical  theories  de- 
veloped in  Emile  are  all  to  the  advantage  of  the 
child.  Rousseau's  appeal  to  mothers  to  suckle 
their  babies,  instead  of  entrusting  them  to  wet- 
nurses,  also  awakened  keen  interest  in  children 
and   their   rights.     Thus   it   happened   that   the 

^  Lettre   sur   les   Spectacles.     Moliere   expresses   his   ideal   of 
paternal  kindness  in  Mclicerte  (ii,  5) : 

"Ah!  que  pour  ses  enfants  un  pere  a  de  faiblesse! 
Peut-on  rien  refuser  a  leurs  mots  de  tendresse? 
Et  ne  se  sent-on  pas  certains  mouvements  doux, 
Quand  on  vient  a  songer  que  cela  sort  de  vous?" 
'  It  must  be  said,  in  justice  to  Jean- Jacques,  that  he  would 
have  his  rule  work  both  ways,  thus  early  releasing  parents  from 
obligations   to   their   children — a  principle  which  he  put  Into 
practice  most  scrupulously. 


io8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

head  of  Louis  XVI  had  scarcely  fallen,  when 
the  National  Convention,  in  its  ''relentless  war 
upon  the  family  and  paternal  authority,"  decreed 
the  equality  of  inheritances.^  This  legislation, 
in  "proclaiming  at  last  the  rights  of  sons,"  and 
favouring  "natural  liberty,"  was  extreme.^  In  a 
modified  form,  it  has  since  tended  both  to  en- 
courage a  spirit  of  independence  and  extravagance 
in  children  and  to  limit  the  family  to  one  child.  ^ 

The  movement  due  to  Rousseau  and  the 
Revolution  continued  to  develop  in  the  form  of 
individualism  and  admiration  of  so-called  Anglo- 
Saxon  liberty.  So  far  as  romanticism  had  any 
special  influence,  it  tended  likewise  to  weaken 
family  bonds  and  to  destroy  the  respect  of  children 
for  their  parents.  A  very  important  force  working 
towards  the  same  end  was  the  decline  of  religious 
faith.  For  centuries  the  Catholic  education  that 
children  received  had  inculcated  in  them  a  sense 
of  submissive  filial  respect.  The  removal  of  this 
restraining  influence,  in  many  cases,  virtually 
amounted  to  their  emancipation.     Then,  too,  the 

^  P.  Bourget,  Pages  de  CriL,  i,  7.  A  persistent  adversary 
of  this  law  was  Le  Play,  the  staunch  advocate  of  paternal  author- 
ity. (Cf.  L' Organisation  du  Travail^  pp.  25,  191.)  Edmond 
About  says  of  the  measure:  " L'agriculture  en  souilre,  Tindustrie 
en  souffre,  le  commerce  en  souffre,  le  sens  commun  en  rougit." 
Le  Progres,  p.  295. 

'  A.  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Civ.  Contemp.  en  France,  p.  85. 
"  L'on  peut  dire  que  notre  Revolution  n'a  pas  etemoins  favorable 
au  bonheur  des  enfants  qu'au  bonheur  materiel  des  peuplcs." 
E.  Grimard,  UEnfant,  son  Passe,  son  Avenir,  p.  322. 

3  F.  Le  Play,  Organisation  de  la  Famille,  5th  ed.,  p.  81. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  109 

lowering  of  moral  standards  that  resulted  from  the 
vogue  of  dilettantism,^  pessimism,  and  natural- 
ism, encouraged  the  insubordinate  attitude  of 
children.  For  evidently  a  father  who  counte- 
nances immorality,  or  whose  own  conduct  is  not 
above  reproach,  must,  or  should,  loosen  the  reins 
of  authority.^  And  a  mother's  authority,  in 
such  a  case,  suffers  even  more  than  a  father's.^ 
All  of  these  influences  have  been  inherited  by 
present-day  democracy,  which,  Emile  Faguet  as- 
serts, teaches  children  contempt  for  their  parents. 
For  democracy  endeavours  to  separate  the  child 
from  its  family,  to  give  it  a  democratic  education 
instead  of  one  chosen  by  the  parents,  and  to 
teach  it  not  to  follow  its  parents'  precepts.  "* 
Legouve,    however,    the    staunch    champion    of 

'  After  Renan  had  disavowed  his  earlier  seriousness,  his  advice 
to  a  young  man  was:  " Amusez-vous,  puisque  vous  avez  vingt 
ans,"  {Questions  Confemp.,  p.  301.)  He  himself  regretted  not 
having  had  a  good  time  while  young  instead  of  working  hard. 
Disc,  et  Confer.,  p.  238. 

'  M.  Noziere,  Pref.  to  StouUig's  Annates  (1907).  Examples 
of  this  principle:  Le  Fils  Naturel,  Un  Pere  Prodigue  (Dumas), 
Les  Eff routes  (Augier),  Le  Marquis  de  Priola  (Lavedan),  M.  de 
Reboval,  La  Petite  Amie,  Simone  (Brieux),  Bertrade  (Lemaitre), 
Les  Affaires  (iMirbeau),  Notre  rjeunesse  (Capus),  La  Lot  de 
Pardon  (Landay). 

3  V Autre  Danger  (Donnay),  La  Sacrifice  (Devore),  La  Fugi- 
tive (Picard),  Revoltee  (Lemaitre),  Les  Maris  de  leurs  Filles 
(Wolff),  Pierre  etTherese,  Les  Anges  Gardiens  (Provost). 

4  Culte  de  V Incompetence,  pp.  140-142.  This  conflict,  which 
grew  out  of  the  struggle  between  Church  and  State  in  France, 
gave  rise  to  the  well-known  leagues  of  family  heads  {peres  de 
famille);  but  such  fathers  were  destined  ultimately  to  lose 
•greatly  in  parental  prestige. 


no       Brieux  and  French  Society 

democracy,  maintained  that  domestic  education 
must  undergo  the  same  evolution  that  political  gov- 
ernment passed  through  as  a  result  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  must  seek  its  solution  in  democracy.  As 
early  as  1869  he  declared  that  fathers  and  sons 
scarcely  agreed  any  longer  about  anything.  The 
cause  of  this  estrangement  he  would  attribute  to  the 
inequality  of  education  between  parents  and  child- 
ren. The  unenviable  lot  of  the  former,  whom  he 
characterizes  as  "humble  in  the  presence  of  their 
children,"  may  be  inferred  from  his  suggestion  that 
a  course  in  filial  duty  be  taught  in  the  schools. ' 

Sporadic  examples  of  stern  discipline  are  stiil 
met  with  in  contemporary  French  literature, 
but  only  in  sufficient  number  to  emphasize  their 
contrast  with  the  predominating  opposite  ten- 
dency.^ Jean  Jullien's  Perraud  says  of  his  father: 
"There   was   no   arguing  with  him.     He   didn't 

^  Les  Fils  d^Aujourd'hui,  pp.  6-29. 

^  The  lives  of  four  famous  literary  men  will  afford  instances. 
After  the  death  of  his  mother,  Stendhal  became  estranged  from 
his  father,  as  we  may  infer  from  his  unfinished  novel,  La  Vie 
d^Henri  Brulard.  Benjamin  Constant  had  a  similar  experience. 
(P.  Bourget,  Essais  de  Psych.  Contemp.,  i,  334.)  Another  in- 
stance is  the  mysterious  case  of  Merimee.  The  Goncourts  tell 
us  that,  Merimee's  parents  having  rallied  him  once  for  making 
a  wry  face  when  scolded,  he  vowed  that  they  should  never  jeer 
at  him  again;  that  indeed  he  kept  his  resolution  "en  se  s^chant 
a  fond."  Hence  his  mortal  dread  of  ridicule.  {Journal,  Jan. 
3,  1864.)  According  to  Augustin  Filon,  however,  Merimee, 
as  an  only  child,  was  overindulged,  rather  than  sternly  brought 
up,  by  his  parents.  {Merimee,  p.  7.)  These  three  "insurgents" 
are  quite  overshadowed  by  Jules  Valles,  the  author  of  Les  RS' 
Jractaires,  whose  life  and  works  constitute  a  revolt  against  par^CL* 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  in 

tell  me  a  second  time  to  take  up  law."^  Coppee's 
Chretien  Lescuyer  never  appeared  before  his 
'' glacial"  father  without  a  feeling  of  fear.  ^  And 
in  Bazin's  Noellet  family  "the  children  did  not 
discuss  their  father's  orders."^  Such  a  drama  as 
Jean  Gravier's  Le  Droit  de  Mort  (191 3),  in  which 
a  father,  by  refusing  to  permit  an  urgent  surgical 
operation,  is  the  cause  of  the  son's  death,  should, 
however,  not  be  taken  too  seriously.  For  it  is 
in  vain  that  the  Civil  Code  says:  "A  son  remains 
under  paternal  authority  up  to  his  twenty-first 
year,"^  and  that  "a  child,  at  all  times,  must 
honour  and  respect  its  father  and  mother"  ^i 
these  articles  have  practically  become  a  dead 
letter.  Yet  an  eminent  philosopher  and  political 
economist,  writing  in  1900,  asserts  that  the  num- 
ber of  children  maltreated  by  their  parents  in 
France  is  "exceedingly  numerous."^     This  would 

tal  tyranny  and  the  social  order.  In  Part  One  of  his  Jacques 
Vingtras  (1879),  an  autobiographical  novel,  the  hero  says  (p.  i): 
"Aly  mother  whips  me  every  morning.  When  she  hasn't  time 
in  the  morning,  she  waits  till  noon,  rarely  later  than  four  o'clock." 
And  elsewhere  (p.  388):  "Very  well!  I  will  stay  my  time  out 
here,  and  then  go  to  Paris.  Once  in  Paris,  we  shall  see  whether 
fathers  have  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  their  sons." 

^  La  Poigne,  Act  I.  This  same  Perraud  disinherits  his  own 
son  for  disobedience,  but  repents  in  the  final  scene,  so  repudiating 
his  theory  of  la  poigne.  '  Le  Coupable,  p.  7. 

2  Les  Noellet,  ch.  iv.  ■♦  Article  304.  s  Article  371. 

^  A;  Fouillee,  La  France  au  Point  de  Vue  Moral,  p.  196.  This 
assertion  is  contradicted  by  Bodley.  (France,  i,  203.)  Cf. 
P.  Strauss  ("Les  Enfants  Alartyrs,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Jan.  23,  1897), 
who  discusses  the  law  of  July  24,  1889,  intended  to  protect  children 
maltreated  by  their  parents. 


112        Brieux  and  French  Society 

account  for  the  vogue  of  a  play  like  Bagnes  d'En- 
fants  (19 lo),'  which  denounces  the  tyranny  of 
fathers  who  send  their  sons  to  the  modern  hells 
called  reform  schools. 

The  dark  colours  in  which  these  remnants  of 
cruelty  are  painted  indicate  their  exceptional 
nature.  The  nineteenth  century  in  France  has 
justly  been  called  **  le  siecle  de  Ve7ifa7it.''^  Never 
before  were  children  so  fondled  and  idolized,  so 
flattered  and  spoiled.  ^'Le  charme,  la  grdce^  la 
Jaihlesse,  la  douceur  de  Venfant  furent  chanteSy 
modides  en  prose  et  en  vers^^  Even  Victor  Hugo, 
the  severe  author  of  Les  ChdtimentSj  with  thunder- 
bolts and  implacable  wrath  for  crowned  heads 
and  mitred  prelates,  sings  in  the  fondest  strains 
the  innocent  caprices  of  childhood.  Cosette  and 
Gavroche  are  his  most  charming  creations;  and 
certainly  no  other  grandchildren  were  ever  immor- 
talized in  verse  as  Georges  and  Jeanne.  With 
Musset  it  was  a  profession  of  faith  to  spoil  child- 
ren. ^  Alphonse  Daudet,  Sully  Prudhomme,  Fran- 
cois Coppee,  Anatole  France,  Jean  Aicard,  and  a 
dozen  others  could  subscribe  to  the  same  dogma. 
Finally,  in  consideration  for  the  child  as  the  supreme 
hope  of  the  future,  J.  H.  Rosny  excels  them  all.^ 

^  A  dramatization  of  Edouard  Quet's  novel,  by  A.  de  Lorde 
and  P.  Chaine. 

'M.  Daubresse,  "  L'Emancipation  de  I'Enfant,"  Rev.  Bleue, 
Mar.  21,  1903. 

3  G.  Renard,  "Le  Droit  de  I'Enfant,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  17,  1910. 

''"L'Enfant,  ce  prolongement  de  soi-meme  en  I'avenir,  est 
decrit  par  Rosny  avec  une  sorte  de  culte.     II  n'est  pas  un  livre 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  113 

In  this  exaltation  of  children  the  drama  has 
fully  kept  pace  with  the  other  literary  genres, 
though  owing  to  a  different  mode  of  expression, 
the  fact  may  at  first  seem  less  evident.  As 
Gabriel  Trarieux  has  said,  '7^  theatre  tout  entier 
d'lIervieUf  celui  de  Brieux  presgiie  entier^  celui  de^ 
Curel  en  partie,  ont  V enfant  pour  mobile.^* ^  In 
other  words,  the  present  tendency  in  France  is 
to  bestow  more  and  more  upon  the  child,  as  the 
symbol  of  future  hope,  the  worship  formerly 
consecrated  to  dogmatic  creeds.^  This  is  what 
Pierre  Baudin  calls  shifting  the  seat  of  worship. 
"People  w^ho  have  lost  their  religious  faith,"  he 
says,  **are  willing  not  to  believe  any  longer  in 
heaven,  but  they  refuse  to  give  up  their  faith  in 
the  earth." ^  Very  similar  is  the  philosophy  of 
Pierre-Hyacinthe  Loyson,  who  declares  that  "all 
conviction,  all  enthusiasm,  all  devotion  is  reli- 
gion."4 

It  may  be  said  in  all  truth  that  with  Brieux  the 
child  has  become  the  object  of  a  cult.     No  less 


ou  ne  fleurisse  le  charme  d'une  enfance.  L'enfant  est  le  plus 
beau  poeme  qui  puisse  interesser  I'adulte."  G.  Casella,  J.-H. 
Rosfiy,  p.  27. 

^"L'lddal  du  Drame  Fr.  Mod.,"  La  Rev.,  Sept.  15,  1904. 
The  list  should,  however,  include  Gaston  Devore,  who  ranks 
immediately  after  Brieux,  and  before  Hervieu. 

'  "L'enfant,  c'est  I'avenir,  ct  la  sainte  mission  de  la  famille 
est  de  les  preparer  I'un  pour  I'autre  et  I'un  par  I'autre." 
E.  Grimard,  L'Enfanf,  son  Passe,  son  Avenir. 

3  Pref.  to  Les  Prophcles,  by  A.  Brisson. 

^VApotre,  Pref. 
8 


114        Brieux  and  French  Society 

than  eight  of  his  plays'  have  for  their  prime  con- 
sideration the  interest  of  the  child ;  and  in  at  least 
five  others,^  he  devotes  more  or  less  attention  to 
some  aspect  of  this  same  general  theme.  Whether 
the  child  is  threatened  at  birth  with  poverty, 
paternal  abandonment,  and  social  ostracism,^ 
or  deprived  of  its  mother's  breast  to  satisfy  the 
vanity  of  a  Parisian  bourgeoises* ;  whether  this 
precious  incarnation,  while  still  in  the  cradle,  is 
about  to  be  sacrificed  for  its  parents'  happiness,  ^ 
or  grows  up  a  victim  of  parental  leniency^ — in 
each  case  Brieux  enlists  his  talent  and  power  of 
persuasion,  to  safeguard  the  vital  interests  of  the 
race.  For  fear  of  compromising  the  child's  future, 
he  refuses  the  husband  not  only  the  right  to  take 
vengeance  upon  a  faithless  wife,^  but  even  the 
right  to  replace  a  "deserter."^  Not  content  with 
championing  a  boy's  right  to  his  individuality, 
to  a  vocation  and  a  wife  of  his  own  choice,  ^  he 
subordinates  all  family  interests  to  the  welfare  of 
a  little  girl.'°  And  in  his  other  plays,  Brieux 
seldom  loses  sight  of  the  child.  He  is  concerned 
about    the    future    generation,    not    the    present 

^  La  Couvee,  Le  Berceau,  Les  RemplaganteSy  La  Petite  Amief 
Maternite,  La  Deserteuse,  Shnone,  Suzette. 

"  Menages  d'ArtisteSy  M.  de  Reboval^  Blanchettet  ResuUat  des 
Courses,  Les  Avaries. 

3  Maternite.  4  Les  Remplagantes. 

5  Le  Berceau.  ^  La  Couvee. 

'  Simonc.  ^  La  Deserteuse. 

9  La  Petite  Amie.     Cf.  La  Robe  Rouge,  I,  6. 

^"Suzette. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  115 

one,  which  alone  interests  certain  egotists,  whose 
motto  seems  to  be:  '^Apres  7ious  le  deluge. ^^"^ 

Numerous  passages  in  the  works  of  other  French 
authors  show  that,  in  general,  they  agree  with 
Brieux.^  While  some  sternly  demand  greater 
consideration  for  children,  others  show  their 
interest  in  them  by  presenting  the  sweeter  side 
of  family  relations.  Maurice  Donnay,  for  instance, 
excels  in  captivating  children-scenes.  Saint- 
Phoin,  with  Pierre  and  Marie  on  his  knees,  sing- 
ing Bohine  to  them^;  Marie-Louise  and  Yvonne 
disputing  over  their  toys,^  and  the  opening  scene 
of  Ama7its,  where  the  little  tots  fight,  are  all 
admirably  handled,  and  scarcely  equalled  by 
Brieux's  scene  in  which  the  children  are  dancing 

^  William  G.  Sharp,  American  Ambassador  to  France,  writing 
on  the  attitude  of  the  French  people  towards  the  future  genera- 
tion, says:  "You  know  there  is  the  saying  that  in  England  it  is 
all  for  the  man,  in  America,  all  for  the  woman,  but  in  France 
all  for  the  child.  Can  any  country  go  far  wrong  in  which  each 
generation  lives  and  works  and  thinks,  not  for  itself  so  much  as 
for  the  generation  that  is  to  come  after  it?"  New  York  Times , 
Sept.  10,  1916. 

'  Significant  are  the  following:  Nos  Fils  que  feront-ils?  Nos 
Filles  qii'en  fero7ts-fious?  (H.  Le  Roux);  Les  Jeunes,  ou  VEspoir 
de  la  France  (H.  Lavedan);  La  Maison  (H.  Bordeaux);  Nos 
Enfants  (G.  Petit) ;  Les  Petits  (L.  Nepoty) ;  Les  Petites  (M.  Aliol- 
lay);  La  Maison  (G.  Mitchell).  In  this  connection  two  books 
deserve  special  mention.  The  one,  Livre  de  mes  Fils  (1906), 
by  Paul  Doumer,  may  be  called  a  manual  of  noble  precepts  for 
both  young  people  and  parents;  the  other,  Les  Anges  Gardiens 
(19 1 4),  by  Marcel  Prevost,  emphasizes  the  caution  necessary 
in  entrusting  one's  children  to  private  teachers  of  foreign  nation- 
ality and  unknown  moral  character. 

3  Le  Torrent.  4  La  Bascule, 


ii6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  Matchiche,  ^  or  Bernstein's  Christmas  tableau.  * 
Unique  is  the  picture  of  Henry  IV  at  the  Louvre, 
on  all  fours  with  his  children  scuffling  and  calling 
one  another  names,  as  they  try  to  climb  upon  his 
back.  2  Loyson's  Baudouin,  a  cabinet  minister 
surprised  by  his  grandchildren  while  engrossed 
in  a  grave  political  question,  is  true  to  life.^  One 
might  go  on  for  page  after  page  citing  such  charm- 
ing scenes  with  children  in  recent  French  litera- 
ture. ^ 

In  more  practical  ways,  too,  there  are  sufficient 
signs  of  regard  for  the  child  in  France.  The 
Child  Labour  law  of  March  30,  1900,  indicates  the 
same  sentiment  in  legislation.^  Further  proof 
is  furnished  by  the  recent  enactment  (November, 
1912)  of  a  law  permitting  the  tracing  of  pater- 
nity— a  concession  refused  even  by  the  Revolu- 
tionary legislators,  who  were  so  favourable  to 
the  child.  7     And  the  low  birth  rate  in  France  is 


^  La  Frangaise.  '  Le  Bercail, 

3  Madame  Mar  got,  by  E.  Moreau  and  G.  Clairville. 

4  VApotre. 

5  For  captivating  scenes,  no  one  drama  excels  La  VicHme,  by 
F.  Vand^rem  and  M.  Franc-Nohain. 

^  P.  Leroy-Beaulieu  considers  this  law  economically  injurious. 
Traiie  d'Econ.  Pol.,  iv,  615.  A.  Casenave,  writing  in  1905, 
says:  "For  more  than  thirty  years,  French  legislation  has  made 
incessant  efforts  to  protect  children."  Les  Trihunaux  civils  de 
Paris  pendant  la  Revolution,  i,  cxliv. 

'L.  Delzons,  "Recherche  de  la  Patemltd,"  Deux  Mondes, 
Feb.  I,  1913.  Before  the  Revolution,  there  was  no  legal  objec- 
tion to  the  tracing  of  paternity.  CJ.  A.  Casenave,  rcf.  quoted, 
i,  cxlvi. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  117 

accounted  for,  in  part,  by  the  desire  of   parents 
to  see  their  children  well  provided  for. 

It  is  only  natural  that  to  some  keen  observers 
such  solicitude  for  the  child  should  seem  exag- 
gerated and  intense  parental  affection  a  dangerous 
weakness.  In  the  adulation  of  children  the 
bourgeoisie  are  accused  of  harmful  excess.  ^  Even 
such  a  sympathizer  with  them  as  Emile  Augier 
represents  their  children  as  indolent,  extravagant, 
and  lacking  in  filial  respect.^  Dumas ^1/5  seemed 
to  view  the  matter  with  less  alarm,  for  the  reason, 
doubtless,  that  other  questions  interested  him 
more.  In  later  years,  domestic  education  has 
frequently  been  the  occasion  for  censure  from 
French  men  of  letters,  as  is  apparent  from  the 
discussion  in  the  press.  According  to  Felix 
Thomas,  the  children  of  the  labouring  classes 
receive  more  rational  training  than  those  of  the 
bourgeoisie.^  J.  Porcher  deplores  the  way  in 
v/hich  French  parents  spoil  their  children  by 
catering   to   all   their   whims   and   making   them 

^  Cf.  Edmond  Fleg's  comedy,  Le  Trouble-Fete  (1913),  in  which 
a  young  bourgeois  household  is  upset  by  the  birth  of  a  child. 

*  H.  Gaillard  de  Champrix,  Emile  Augier  et  la  Com.  Soc.f 
PP-  359>  362.  For  dramatic  purposes,  the  children  in  Madame 
Caverlet  are  models  of  obedience.  Also  in  Le  Fils  de  Gihoyer 
and  Un  Beau  Mariage  the  young  people  have  been  brought  up 
well;  but  these  are  not  Augier's  types.  He  expresses  his  per- 
sonal convictions  in  La  Jeunesse  (iii,  10),  where  Philippe  says 
to  Hubert: 

"Ah!  mon  chcr,  le  respect  filial  est  malade, 
Et  notre  siecle  en  est  bien  deshabituel" 

3  Rev.  Bleue,  Jan.  25,  1908. 


ii8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

sovereign  lords  of  the  home.^  "Hence,"  he  says, 
in  the  case  of  the  son,  "his  egotism,  his  effeminacy, 
his  unwillingness  to  sacrifice  himself  for  another, 
in  a  word,  his  Idchete.^^  He  summarizes  a  young 
man's  programme  thus:  "With  a  minimum  of  pri- 
vations, obtain  a  maximum  of  enjoyment;  escape 
military  service;  carouse  as  long  as  one's  money 
and  health  will  permit;  finally,  make  a  rich  mar- 
riage, and  have  at  most  one  child."  ^  Nowadays 
a  woman,  instead  of  entrusting  the  education  of 
her  daughter  to  the  convent,  as  formerly,  makes 
a  doll  of  her  while  she  is  young  and  idolizes  her 
when  grown.  ^  It  is  understood  that  a  mother 
always  shields  her  son  if  perchance  his  father 
attempts  to  punish  him."*  Hence  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  children  should  consider  themselves 
at  least  their  parents'  equals^;  that  they  should 
judge  their  parents*  conduct,^  and  frequently 
insist  on  having    the  last  word.*^      A   divorced 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  July  3,  1897.  With  Restif  de  la  Bretonne  it  was  a 
maxim  that  "les  plus  cruels  ennemis  des  enfants,  ce  sont  les 
parents  qui  les  gatent." 

^  Ihid.  Leon  Grandet  declares  in  the  following  number  of 
the  Revue  Bleue  that  M.  Porcher's  views  are  extreme  and  unjust. 

3  E.  Legouvd,  Les  Peres  et  les  Eiifants  au  XIX^  Siecle,  p.  409. 

'♦Paul  Doumer,  however,  thinks  that  both  girls  and  boys 
should  be  left  as  long  as  possible  under  their  mother's  control. 
He  conceives  of  paternal  authority  as  something  too  severe  for 
constant  exercise.  Auguste  Comte  advocated  maternal  super- 
vision of  the  child's  education.  With  Aime  Martin  it  was  a 
principle  that  "I'instruction  appartient  h.  I'homme;  I'^ducation 
est  ceuvre  maternelle." 

5  H.  Bordeaux,  Le  Lac  Noir.  ^  E.  Quet,  Les  Charitahles. 

7  "It  is  well  known  that  in  the  modern  family,  instead  of  the 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  119 

parent  who  marries  again  almost  invariably  incurs 
silent  or  open  filial  reproach.  Max  Andeline's 
bantering,  rallying  conduct  toward  his  father 
and  mother^  is  equalled  only  by  the  scandalous 
mockery  with  which  Paul  Gostard  receives  the 
timid  suggestions  of  his  devoted  mother.^  In 
Emile  Fabre's  La  Vie  Puhliqiie,  M.  de  Riols, 
who  is  opposed  to  his  son's  contemplated  marriage, 
says:  "We  are  living  at  a  time  when  sons  dis- 
regard the  authority  of  their  fathers."  ^  One  might 
expect  parental  authority  to  have  maintained 
itself  in  the  rural  districts,  but  such  is  not  the 
case.  As  early  as  1869,  according  to  Legouve, 
the  situation  was  already  even  worse  there  than 
elsewhere;  for  not  only  had  filial  respect  disap- 
peared, but  the  refining  influence  of  affection  did 
not  develop,  as  among  the  bourgeoisie,  to  com- 
pensate for  the  loss.  Hence  cynic  ingratitude  is 
the  capital  vice  of  peasants'  sons.  ^  Examples  in 
French  literature  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  training 
of  children  at  home  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 

father  guiding  the  child,  the  latter  guides  the  father."  P.  Leroy- 
Beaulieu,  The  Mod.  State,  p.  99. 

*  Samson  (H.  Bernstein). 

^  H.  Lavedan,  Le  Nouveau  Jeu.  Cf.  A.  Fernet, La  MaisonDivisee. 

3  We  find  the  same  complaint  in  Paul  Alargueritte's  recent 
novel,  Nous,  les  Meres,  and  again  in  his  Le  Pristne. 

* Les  Fils  d'Aujourdlnd.  "La  famille  commence  par  I'in- 
stinct  et  aboutit  a  la  plus  pure  des  idecs  morales,  la  piete  filiale." 
(Saint-Marc  Girardin,  Cours  de  Litt.,  ii,  2.)  Claire  de  Pratz 
tells  us  that  people  educated  in  the  Catholic  ecoles  lihres  have  a 
more  polite  and  refined  manner  than  those  educated  in  the  State 
schools.     France  from  Within  (1912),  p.  118. 


120       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Realizing  how  essential  it  is  that  children  should 
be  brought  up  rationally,  Brieux  presented  his 
views  on  the  question  in  La  Couvee  {The  Broody 
1893),  a  comedy  in  which  he  satirizes  goodnaturedly 
certain  weaknesses  of  parents.  The  central  char- 
acter is  Graindor,  a  well-to-do  wine  merchant 
in  a  provincial  city,  who  has  been  too  busy  to 
direct  the  education  of  his  children,  Auguste  and 
Fifine.  Instead  of  keeping  his  son  under  intimi- 
dating restraint,  he  has  made  a  "comrade"  of 
him  and  encouraged  him  to  sow  his  wild  oats.^ 
Heeding  this  advice,  the  young  scapegrace  is 
lavishing  money  upon  an  actress.  It  would 
break  Mme.  Graindor's  heart  to  deny  her  children 
anything.  Thus  it  happens  that  Fifine,  now 
eighteen,  still  has  a  tendency  to  giggle  at  every- 
thing, but  not  the  slightest  conception  of  the 
responsibihties  of  life.  She  is  engaged  to  Andre 
Meillet,  a  young  physician.  As  soon  as  Fifine 
gains  the  social  freedom  implied  in  marriage,  she 
intends  to  amuse  herself  like  a  woman  of  society. 

During  Mme.  Meillet's  formal  call  to  ask  for 
Fifine's  hand,  we  see  the  contrast  between  Andre's 
rearing  and  the  Graindor  children's.  The  wine 
merchant  says  frankly  that  Auguste  is  a  good- 
for-nothing  spoiled  by  his  mother,  but  Mme. 
Graindor  defends  her  darling,  rejoicing  that  they 
succeeded  in  getting  him  exempted  from  military 

^  In  Augier's  dramas  it  is  not  uncommon  for  a  father  to  tell 
his  son  to  contract  a  "harmless"  liaison.  Cf.  Les  Corbeaux 
(Becque),  La  Petite  Amie  (Brieux),  La  Poigne  QuUien).! 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  121 

service.  He  wanted  to  marry  "an  attractive 
young  woman  in  a  good  situation";  but  they  have 
in  view  for  him  the  daughter  of  their  only  com- 
petitor in  the  wine  business.^  Mme.  Meillet 
gives  them  to  understand  that  her  son  has  served 
in  the  army  and  completed  his  medical  course. 
To  him  everything  in  life  has  a  serious  meaning. 
Indeed,  if  we  had  not  heard  of  a  certain  god's 
magic  darts,  the  author  could  not  make  us  believe 
that  Andre  loves  a  frivolous  doll  like  Fifine. 
Frivolous  is  not  exactly  the  word ;  nor  is  Fifine  ill- 
behaved;  but  she  is  as  inconsciente  and  veule  as  a 
child. 

Mme.  Graindor,  who  of  course  gives  her  consent 
to  the  marriage,  exclaims  in  a  fit  of  emotion:  "All 
I  ask  now  is  to  die,  since  my  children  no  longer 
need  me."^  Fifine,  not  to  be  outdone,  offers  to 
stay  with  her  parents  instead  of  marrying.^  As 
a  compromise,  it  is  agreed  that  the  young  people 
shall  occupy  the  apartment  on  the  second  floor.  "* 

After  their  marriage,  Andre  and  Fifine  take 
their   meals   at    Mme.    Graindor's.     The    young 

*  Auguste  wanted  to  be  an  artist,  but  his  parents  opposed  his 
choice.  They  now  regret  this.  Brieux  develops  the  same  idea 
in  La  Petite  Amie.  The  bourgeoisie  are  frequently  charged  with 
this  mistake. 

^  The  same  situation  in  H.  Bordeaux's  La  Peur  de  Vivre, 
where  Mme.  Dulaurens  accuses  her  daughter  of  ingratitude. 

3  Alice  Dulaurens  says  to  her  mother:  "I  will  not  marry,  I 
will  stay  with  you,"     Ibid. 

*  Similarly,  Mme.  Dulaurens  makes  it  a  condition  of  her 
consent  that  her  daughter  must  live  with  her.     Ibid. 


122       Brieux  and  French  Society 

wife  spends  most  of  her  time  dressing,  gadding 
about,  and  visiting  with  her  mother.  Knowing 
that  she  has  her  mother's  approval,  she  pays  no 
attention  to  Andre's  gentle  hints  about  her  house- 
hold duties.  To  complicate  the  situation,  Mme. 
Graindor  and  Andre  dispute  about  several  things. 
In  the  mother-in-law's  opinion,  a  young  couple 
should  enjoy  their  youth  as  long  as  possible: 
children  will  come  soon  enough  and  in  sufficient 
number.  One  child,  anyway,  she  thinks,  is 
enough.  Andre  says  that  children  are  the  joy 
and  peace  of  the  home.  The  more,  the  better: 
France  needs  them.  Mme.  Graindor  objects 
that  he  could  not  afford  to  hire  so  many 
nurses.  Andre  intends  that  his  children  shall 
have  no  nurse  but  their  mother.  Mme.  Graindor 
has  almost  a  horror  of  a  woman  who  nurses  her 
baby.^  When  Andre's  mother  attempts  to  "put 
things  in  order,"  Fifine's  parents  interfere.  But 
thanks  to  Graindor's  good  sense,  the  young 
people  are  left  to  reach  an  agreement  by  them- 
selves. To  avoid  trouble  in  the  future,  they 
will  move  to  their  own  house. 

Meanwhile  Auguste  Graindor,  abandoned  by 
his  actress,  has  confessed  his  debts  to  his 
father,  threatening  to  commit  suicide  if  not 
permitted  to  join  the  army  in  Algeria.  His 
parents  realize  that  they  must  let  him  go,  but 
this  painful  duty  is  a  cruel  blow  to  both  of  them, 

*  Brieux  treats  this  question  at  length  in  Les  Remplagantes. 
CJ.  Chapter  XIV  of  the  present  volume. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  123 

now  that  Fifine  has  moved  away.  "We  two,'* 
says  Graindor  sadly  to  his  wife,  "shall  be  left 
alone:  the  brood  is  fledged,  the  little  ones  are 
leaving  the  nest. '* 

Evidently  one  moral  of  the  drama  is  that  when 
young  people  marry  and  begin  life  for  themselves, 
meddling  on  the  part  of  mothers-in-law,  even 
though  it  be  well  meant,  results  only  in  harm. 
If  that  were  the  sole  significance  of  the  piece, 
Brieux  might  be  accused  of  attempting  to  force 
an  open  door.  But  as  I  see  the  play,  he  is  con- 
cerned particularly  with  the  training  of  children. 
This  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  he  detached  Act 
II  as  an  independent  comedy,  under  the  title  of 
The  School  for  Mother s-in-Law,  thus  showing 
that  the  comic  quarrel  of  the  mothers  forms 
an  episode  by  itself.  The  fundamental  part  of  the 
denouement  is  the  decision  to  send  Auguste  to 
Algeria  and  to  let  the  young  couple  settle  their 
own  differences.  No  trouble  would  have  risen 
if  Fifine  had  been  as  well  reared  as  Andre.  In 
emphasizing  the  contrast  between  Andre's  training 
and  the  Graindor  children's,  Brieux  shows  what  he 
thinks  domestic  education  should  be.  We  must 
not  infer,  however,  that  he  favours  severe  discipline. 
In  La  Petite  Amie  (1902),  he  denounces  the  pater- 
nal tyranny  that  seeks  unduly  to  mould  a  child's 
character;  and  in  both  Les  RemplaQantes  (1901) 
and  Suzette  (1909)  he  condemns  parents'  abuse  of 
their  authority,  or  at  least  influence,  over  their 
married    children.      Parental    kindliness    should 


124       Brieux  and  French  Society 

always  accompany  parental  firmness.^  In  La 
FranQaise  (1907),  a  play  intended  to  represent 
the  best  French  family  life,  not  only  does  charming 
little  Pierre  obey  his  parents  without  a  word  of 
admonition,  but  his  grown  half-sister  lives  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  her  stepmother. 

Characterization  is  even  stronger  in  La  Couvee 
than  in  Blanchette,  for  here  there  is  no  important 
character  so  inconsistent  as  the  heroine  of  that 
earlier  play.  The  author  combines  his  accurately 
observed  details  so  skilfully  as  to  produce  a  picture 
of  family  life  that  is  very  vivid.  Typical  as  the 
characters  are,  each  has  individuality.  And  Brieux 
shows  himself  now  past  master  in  the  revelation  of 
character  by  didactic  episodes.  In  this  neither 
Augier  nor  Dumas  j^/j  was  more  successful.  Mme. 
Graindor,  whose  maternal  affection  contains  a 
strong  tincture  of  sentimentalism,  is  an  especially 
happy  creation,  in  view  of  the  symbolical,  didactic 
theme  of  the  play.  The  faults  of  her  children  are 
fully  brought  out,  but  with  no  intention  of  putting 
on  Auguste  and  Fifine  the  blame  for  their  parents' 
harmful  leniency.     The  girl's  frivolity  is  clearly 

^  In  his  address  before  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Let- 
ters, Brieux  said:  "Tyrants  are  found  not  only  on  thrones,  but 
also  around  the  family  hearth.  Particularly  in  the  Latin  coun- 
tries there  are  humble,  venerable  bourgeois  who,  though  having 
kindly  faces,  are  really  detestable  despots  and  hold  their  wives 
and  children  in  bondage.  Such  men  have  good  intentions.  They 
sin  only  through  a  pride  of  which  they  are  ignorant;  they  are  con- 
vinced that  they  know  better  than  their  children  what  is  best  for 
them." 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  125 

made  due  to  her  veulerie,  which  Louis  Chevallier, 
who  finds  this  failing  characteristic  of  the  gens  du 
raonde,  defines  as  "indifference  to  everything  that 
does  not  directly  affect  the  person's  egotistical 
happiness."^  Her  desire  to  marry  is  natural 
enough.  By  so  doing  she  could  gain  her  social 
freedom,  for  in  France  a  married  woman  has 
infinitely  more  liberty  than  an  unmarried  one.^ 
Brieux  shows  us  perfectly  what  conception  such  an 
irresponsible  doll-wife  has  of  marriage,  especially 
when  her  mother  bears  the  son-in-law  a  grudge  for 
taking  the  daughter  from  her.  Equally  well  he 
shows  us  the  attitude  towards  life  of  a  young  man 
like  Auguste,  spoiled  by  the  unintelligent  com- 
radeship 3  of  his  father  and  led  by  father  and  mother 
both  to  hope  that  intrigue  and  political ' '  protection '  * 
will  get  him  exemption  from  military  service. 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Aug.  26,  1899. 

^  Georges  Pellissier  observes:  "Our  manners  permit  young 
women  no  liberty;  therefore,  they  marry  to  emancipate  them- 
selves."    Etudes  de  Litt.  Contemp.,  ii,  103. 

3  The  case  of  Jean-Jacques  and  his  father,  also  that  of  Dumas 
pere  and  Dumas  yi/5 — if  Un  P ere  Prodique  is  trxistworthy  evidence 
— illustrate  "comradeship."  The  most  striking  example  in 
recent  French  literature  is  seven-year-old  Georgie  Houzier,  who 
regularly  calls  his  father  "comrade."  (Fr.  de  Croisset,  Le  Coeur 
Dispose,)  Irene  de  Rysbergue  is  both  her  sons*  comrade  and 
confidante.  (H.  Bataille,  Maman  Colibri.)  Marcel  Prevost  por- 
trays a  mother  who  confides  to  her  grown  son  her  liaison  with 
a  married  man.  {Les  Anges  Gardiens.)  Saint-Marc  Girardin, 
who  traces  this  "comradeship"  to  the  sentimental  philosophy  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  says:  "A  father  who  endeavors  to  become 
his  son's  comrade  lowers  the  dignity  of  his  character,  and  lowers 
it  without  profit."     Cours  de  Litt.,  i,  292. 


126        Brieux  and  French  Society 

The  theme  of  La  Couvee  has  been  treated,  or  at 
least  touched  on,  in  several  other  works  worthy  of 
attention.  Some  of  these  emphasize  the  relations 
between  parent  and  child  from  a  disciplinary 
standpoint;  others  stress  more  particularly  certain 
aspects  of  home  training  as  it  affects  the  child's 
future.  Still  others  generalize  the  theme,  making 
the  characters  broadly  representative. 

La  Sacrifiee  {The  Sacrificed  Daughter ^  I907;>  a 
drama  by  Gaston  Devore,  shows  the  evil  results 
of  parental  partiality.  "The  French  family,"  the 
author  says,  in  commenting  on  his  play,  "is  under- 
going evolution.  As  a  result  of  this,  it  is  passing 
through  a  grave  crisis,  which  must  profoundly 
affect  the  whole  French  social  system.  The  major- 
ity of  blighted  lives  and  distorted  characters  are 
due  to  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  children  have 
been  brought  up. "  ^  According  to  the  ' '  reasoner, ' ' 
a  child's  will  may  suffer  atrophy  from  excessive 
affection.  ^  Children  v/ho  receive  too  much  paren- 
tal attention  are  even  more  to  be  pitied  than  those 
v/ho  grow  up  in  deplorable  neglect.  ■^ 

Madame    Baudricourt,    the    mother    of    three 

'  G.  Sorbets,  Illustration  TJiedtrale,  Oct.  19,  1907. 

'  In  his  drama,  Page  Blanche  (1909),  Devore  satirizes  parental 
prudery  and  advocates  eugenic  instruction. 

3  Mademoiselle  de  Poncin  (P.  Gaulot,  1883)  depicts  some  of 
the  surprises  of  home  training.  The  hero,  brought  up  by  a 
vigilant,  cultured  mother,  is  vacillating,  irresolute,  and  lacking 
in  refinement.  On  the  other  hand,  the  heroine,  whose  mother 
was  both  physically  and  mentally  incapable  of  directing  her, 
possesses  a  strong  character,  a  resolute  will,  and  a  refined  manner. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  127 

daughters  (Frangolse,  Suzanne,  and  Jeannine), 
has  always  bestowed  her  praise  and  attention  upon 
her  favourite,  Suzanne,  thus  alienating  the  affection 
of  Jeannine,  whose  frank,  aggressive  disposition 
resents  her  mother's  partiality.  Frangoise,  an 
old  maid  of  thirty-five,  quiet,  obedient,  and  dis- 
interested, does  not  complain.  The  father  realizes 
that  parents  should  treat  their  children  alike,  but 
he  lets  his  wife  have  her  way.  Suzanne  is  sought 
in  marriage  by  a  swindler,  Roizel,  for  his  son, 
Julien.  The  young  man,  taught  to  know  no  other 
will  but  his  father's,  lacks  the  courage  of  self- 
assertion.  Half  unwittingly  he  allows  his  father 
to  make  a  fraudulent  marriage  contract,  by  means 
of  which  Baudricourt  is  induced  to  despoil  his  other 
daughters  in  favour  of  Suzanne.  Fortunately 
Roizel's  designs  are  discovered  in  time  to  break 
the  contract. 

In  both  families  the  children  are  the  victims 
of  their  parents'  faults.  And  the  fact  that  such 
parents  sincerely  believe  that  they  are  contribut- 
ing to  their  children's  happiness  does  not  compen- 
sate for  the  wrong.  Mme.  Baudricourt  repents, 
but  too  late  to  pacify  her  "sacrificed"  daughter.' 
La  Sacrifiee,  which  we  shall  mention  again  in 
connection  with  Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Dupont,  is 
virtually  a  thesis  drama,  written  in  a  much  more 

^  In  his  masterpiece,  Foil  de  Carotte  (1894),  Jules  Renard 
shows  the  disastrous  consequences  of  parental  partiality.  Poll  de 
Carotte,  the  youngest  of  three  children,  is  constantly  maltreated 
by  his  mother.  The  little  martyr  finally  rebels,  and  shaking  his 
fist  towards  the  house,  cries:  "Mean  woman!     I  detest  you!" 


128       Brieux  and  French  Society- 
serious   vein   than   La   Couvee.     Its   chief  defect 
consists  in  certain  distortions,  or  obscurities,  of 
character  for  the  purpose  of  contrast. 

In  his  later  play,  VEnvolee  {The  Flight  from  the 
Nest,  1 9 14),  Devore  emphasizes  particularly  a 
young  man's  right  to  choose  his  vocation,  and 
places  parental  failing  with  the  father  rather 
than  with  the  mother.  Durembourg,  a  furniture- 
manufacturer,  not  only  wishes  his  son,  Georges,  to 
become  his  associate  in  business,  but  also  to  marry 
the  daughter  of  his  sole  business  competitor.  The 
young  man  loves  a  girl  in  the  designing  depart- 
ment of  his  father's  factory  and  has  set  his  heart 
on  being  a  scientist.  Mme.  Durembourg  assists 
her  son  to  marriage  and  provides  him  with  capital 
for  a  scientific  laboratory  in  Africa.  There  is  a 
hint  at  reconciliation  at  the  end  in  the  father's 
breaking  down  after  his  son  has  gone.  Here  the 
mother  is  the  champion  of  individualism,  the 
father,  of  family  tradition.  Much  as  family  tradi- 
tion is  to  be  commended,  for  the  family  derives 
much  of  its  stability  and  vitality  from  traditional 
sources,  Devore  blames  the  narrowness  with 
which  the  manufacturer  insists  on  his  convictions. 
'  In  still  another  play,  La  Conscience  de  fEnfant 
(The  Child's  Conscience ^  1899),  Devore  treats 
family  affection  and  home  training.  Here  it  is 
the  case  of  a  grandfather,  who  seeks  unduly  to 
manage  the  affairs  of  his  granddaughter  as  well 
as  of  her  mother  (his  own  daughter)  and  his  son. 
In  spite  of  his  real  love  for  them  and  of  theirs  for 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  129 

him,  all  rebel.'  In  this  as  in  his  other  plays, 
Devore  is  virtually  in  accord  with  Brieux  as 
regards  domestic  education. 

Family  love  and  its  consequences  again  form  the 
theme  of  Paul  Hervieu's  La  Course  du  Flambeau 
{The  Course  of  the  Torch,  1901),  one  of  the  great- 
est dramas  of  our  time.  It  is  the  story  of  a 
grandmother  with  a  daughter  and  a  married  grand- 
daughter. When  the  granddaughter's  and  grand- 
mother's welfare  are  at  stake,  the  mother,  Sabine, 
does  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  her  mother  in  the 
interests  of  her  daughter.  The  granddaughter, 
who  is  not  very  different  from  Fifine  Graindor, 
seems  to  care  only  for  herself  and  her  husband. 
The  dramatist  shows  that  ''V affection  est  comme  les 
Jleuves:  elle  descend  et  ne  remonte  pas, "  ^    In  reality, 

^  Cf.  V Aigrette  (1912),  a  drama  by  Dario  Niccodemi.  Kenry 
de  Saint-Servan  admires,  respects,  and  almost  fears  his  mother. 
Irresponsible,  he  knows  nothing  about  their  financial  affairs, 
since  the  Countess,  left  heavily  in  debt  at  the  death  of  her  un- 
worthy husband,  has  stoically  concealed  her  troubles  from  him. 
Now  she  is  arranging  his  marriage  to  Isabelle,  whose  dowry  will 
pay  their  debts.  But  Henry's  mistress,  Suzanne,  the  wife  of  a 
speculator,  is  unwilling  to  release  him.  Moreover,  she  has  given 
the  Countess  large  sums  of  money.  When  Henry  discovers  these 
transactions,  he  says  to  his  mother:  "  I  wish  you  were  dead,  that  I 
might  pardon  you."  Mindful  of  her  well-meant  sacrifices,  the 
Countess  refuses  to  apologize. 

"  R.  Doumic,  Deux  Mondes,  May  15,  1901.  The  same  critic 
remarks  that  Hervieu's  theory  holds  neither  of  the  ancient  Greek 
patriarchal  family  nor  of  the  Roman ;  that  the  principle  is  contra- 
dicted by  both  Anglo-Saxon  and  early  French  custom.  In  short, 
it  is  only,  roughly  speaking,  in  the  French  family  of  today  that  the 
dovv-nward  trend  of  affection  has  prevailed. 


130       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  mother's  love  for  her  daughter  is  only  a  form  of 
egotism,  lilce  Mme.  Graindor's  sentimental  affec- 
tion for  Fifine.^  Hervieu's  philosophy,  in  still 
preserving  at  least  the  downward  trend  of  affection, 
is  only  half  as  cruel  as  the  stoic  individualism  of  an 
Ibsen,  who  frees  his  Brand  from  all  bonds  of  filial, 
conjugal,  and  parental  love.  ^ 

The  same  theme  has  been  treated  by  Paul 
Margueritte.  In  Nous,  les  Meres  {We  Mothers, 
1913),  he  represents  four  generations:  Mme. 
Gimones,  her  mother,  her  married  daughter, 
Nicole,  and  her  granddaughter,  Marcelle,  Nicole's 
little  girl.  Mme.  Gimones  loves  Nicole  affection- 
ately, but,  unlike  Sabine  in  La  Course  du  Flambeau, 
she  is  unwilling  to  sacrifice  her  mother  for  her. 
Tortured  by  her  double  obligation,  she  exclaims: 
**What  shall  I  do?  I  cannot  abandon  my  mother 
any  longer."  Later  she  regrets  having  exercised 
her  tutelary  role  so  long,  since,  according  to  the 
law  of  the  human  species,  parents  owe  their  affec- 

^  Poirier  is  actuated  by  the  same  motive  in  urging  his  daugh- 
ter to  separate  from  Gaston. 

Therese  Degrand,  one  of  Lavedan's  characters,  is  haunted  by 
the  subject  of  affection.  "Ne  serait-ce  pas  legitime,"  she  says, 
"de  jouir  de  ses  parents,  de  ses  freres  et  de  ses  soeurs,  de  ses 
enfants,  de  son  mari,  tout  le  temps  qu'ils  ont  a  etre  sur  la  terre? 
Au  lieu  de  cela,  nous  n'avons  qu'un  morceau  de  la  vie  de  nos 
parents,  et  ils  n'ont  qu'une  moitie  de  la  n6tre.     Une  Cour,  p.  30. 

*  The  heroine  in  La  Femme  au  Masque  (19 14),  a  novel  by  Louis 
Lefebure  dedicated  to  Paul  Hervieu,  neglects  her  mother,  not  for 
her  children,  but  because  she  is  unwilling  to  leave  her  husband, 
whose  repeated  acts  of  infidelity  only  intensify  her  jealous  love. 
See  pp.  106,  178. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  131 

tion  to  their  children  rather  than  to  their  parents.  ^ 
This  broad,  general  law,  which  Hervieu  and  Paul 
Margueritte  have  illustrated  with  convincing 
power,  is  not  without  exception,  for  in  the  recent 
drama  we  find  two  cases  of  the  upward  trend  of 
affection. 

The  one,  V Enfant  de  V Armour  {The  Child  oj 
Gallantry,  191 1),  by  Henry  Bataille,  presents  the 
situation  of  a  courtesan  loved  and  defended  by  her 
grown  son,  in  spite  of  herself,  so  to  speak.  When 
her  present  lover,  Rantz,  attempts  to  break  their 
seventeen-year  liaison,  in  order  to  take  a  cabinet 
portfolio,  the  dutiful  son,  by  threatening  to  com- 
promise Rantz 's  daughter,  compels  him  to  marry 
his  mother. 

Papa  (191 1),  the  second  of  these  plays,  by 
Robert  de  Flers  and  H.  de  Caillavet,  has  for  its 
hero  another  dutiful  illegitimate  son.  Jean  Bernard 
is  legally  recognized,  unexpectedly,  in  his  twenty- 
seventh  year,  by  his  father,  Count  de  Larzac, 
whom  he  has  never  seen.  The  Count  soon  falls  in 
love  with  his  son's  fiancee.  Convinced  that  his 
sweetheart  loves  the  Count  more  than  himself, 
Jean  withdraws  in  his  father's  favour,  explaining 
his  renimciation  in  the  following  words:  ''Ordi- 


^  In  Femmes  Nouvelles,  a  novel  by  Paul  and  Victor  Margueritte 
we  read:  "Helene  (who  had  just  become  engaged  to  be  married) 
did  not  even  attempt  to  excuse  herself,  or  to  explain  to  her  mother 
how  natural  it  was  that  children,  while  still  remaining  tenderly- 
affectionate  towards  their  parents,  should  begin  life  for  them- 
selves. ' ' 


132       Brieux  and  French  Society 

narily  parents  sacrifice  themselves  for  their  child- 
dren.     This  time  it  is  the  contrary. "  ^ 

After  noting  such  aspects  of  our  theme  as 
harmful  home  training,  parental  partiality,  and 
affection  in  its  broad  sense,  we  now  come  to  an 
author  who  may  almost  be  said  to  have  written  a 
sequel  to  Brieux's  comedy.  In  La  Peur  de  Vivre 
{The  Fear  of  Life ^  1902),  the  novel  already  quoted, 
Henry  Bordeaux  deepens  and  broadens  the  theme 
of  La  Couvee,  giving  it  greater  social  importance. 
The  egotism  of  the  Graindor  parents  was  limited 
to  the  desire  of  seeing  their  offspring  well  provided 
for;  here  egotism  is  a  principle  of  life  with  the  par- 
ents themselves,  whose  motto  is:  ''Avant  tout  il 
faut  assurer  sa  tranquillite.'" ""  This  novel  depicts 
practically  the  same  evils  as  those  painted  in  La 

^  The  theme  of  family  solidarity  and  paternal  discipline  plays  a 
certain  r61e  in  two  other  dramas  that  were  running  at  the  same 
time  in  Paris  this  same  year  (191 1) :  Z,e  Tribun  (Paul  Bourget)  and 
UApotre  (P.  H.  Loyson).  In  each  case  the  father  is  a  cabinet 
minister,  whose  son  becomes  implicated  in  a  scandal.  But  as 
might  be  expected,  the  denouements  differ  radically.  Bourget's 
"tribune,"  a  socialist  opposed  to  paternal  authority  and  family 
solidarity,  who  would  make  the  individual  the  social  unit,  finds 
that  his  theory  breaks  down  lamentably  in  application;  for  he 
instinctively  shields  his  guilty  son.  Loyson 's  "apostle"  of 
skepticism,  on  the  contrary,  delivers  his  son  into  the  hands  of  the 
law,  though  his  disillusion  is  as  complete  as  the  tribune's,  since  he 
finds  that  his  son's  education,  which  he  thought  complete,  lacks 
one  all-important  element:  moral  instruction. 

3  Emile  Faguet  asserts  that  for  a  century  the  French  people 
have  fashioned  their  jurisprudence,  their  professional  life,  their 
family  life,  and  their  social  life  all  with  a  view  to  avoiding  respon- 
sibility.    Horreur  des  Responsahilites,  p.  i. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  133 

Couvee,  only  in  a  different  generation.  Fifine 
Graindor's  veulerie  has  become  characteristic 
of  Alice  Dulaurens's  parents.  To  this  "fear  of 
life"  Bordeaux  attributes  several  of  the  dis- 
integrating forces  that  are  sapping  the  vitality 
from  the  French  nation.  His  egotists  shirk  the 
responsibilities  and  burdens  of  life,  avoid  its  risks 
and  dangers,  leave  all  sacrifices  to  the  heroic  few. 
This  egotism  accounts  for  the  hordes  of  applicants 
seeking  public  employment.  It  is  largely  responsi- 
ble for  the  shameful  bartering  in  dowries,  a  subject 
treated  by  Brieux  in  Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Dupont. 
It  drives  many  persons  to  celibacy  and  prompts 
others  to  limit  their  family  to  one  child.  For, 
*'donner  la  vie/'  to  quote  Bordeaux,  ''devient  une 
responsahilite  trop  pesante,  une  charge  trop  penihle.'" 
If  parents  have  few  children,  for  that  very  reason 
they  are  inclined  to  spoil  them  and  to  insist  on 
keeping  them  in  their  home.  ^ 

Many  fathers  and  mothers  [the  author  says]  can- 
not consent  to  a  separation  from  their  children;  hence 
they  dissuade  them  from  embracing  broad  careers 
demanding  initiative,  or  from  marriage  that  would 
necessitate  residence  in  a  distant  locality,  but  which 
would  prove  to  be  of  great  moral  value.  Out 
of  sentimental   egotism   they   stifle   their  children's 

'  Paul  Doumer  remarks  that  the  children  of  large  families  seem 
to  succeed  better  in  life  than  others.  Livre  de  mes  Fils,  p.  159. 
Restif  de  la  Bretonne  was  of  the  same  opinion.  "De  nombreux 
enfants,"  he  declares,  "sont  toujours  vertueux;  un  fils,  une  fille 
uniques  sont  le  plus  souvent  desmonstres."  Les  Frangaises,  voL 
iv.    Cf.  E.  Demohns,  La  Superiorite  des  Anglo-Saxons,  pp.  83,  95. 


134       Brieux  and  French  Society 

initiative    and    impose    upon    tnem    an    enervating 
tutelage. 

Although  La  Couvee  would  have  greater  signifi- 
cance if  Brieux  had  not  too  often  sacrificed  serious- 
ness for  comic  effect,  the  testimony  of  other 
writers,  it  is  clear,  amply  corroborates  his  asser- 
tion that  the  relation  between  parents  and  children 
is  a  problem  of  grave  importance.  It  would  be 
erroneous,  however,  to  conclude  that  all  the 
young  people  in  recent  French  literature,  and  still  i 
more  all  the  young  people  in  France,  are  ill-bred. 
Good  breeding  remains  the  rule.  But  not  every 
boy  can  be  kept  constantly  over  his  books,  like  a 
John  Stuart  Mill;  nor  can  all  children  be  expected 
to  imitate  the  submissive  conduct  of  a  Pasteur. 
Nobody  would  want  all  young  people's  characters 
fashioned  after  one  and  the  same  fixed  model  of 
perfection.  Though  Anatole  France  thinks  that 
French  parents  do  not  bring  up  their  children  well 
for  lack  of  firmness,  he  is  convinced  that  the  stern 
paternal  discipline  of  former  centuries  would  be  of 
no  value  in  a  modern  democracy  with  its  own  ideals 
and  aspirations.^  Even  the  conservative  critic, 
Rene  Doumic,  considers  the  change  to  gentler  and 
friendlier  relations  natural  and  inevitable,  since 
frequently  children  do  not  belong  to  the  same  social 
class  as  their  parents.^ 

^  Vie  Litter.,  ii,  246-250.  "Nous  sommes  doux,  affectueux, 
tol^rants,"  he  says,  "mais  nous  ne  savons  plus  ni  imposer  ni  subir 
rob^issance. " 

^Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  19,  1892. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  135 

Our  survey  of  the  rapid  evolution  of  French 
domestic  education  makes  it  clear  that,  like  all 
social  questions,  this  one  is  complex  and  subject 
to  many  collateral  influences.  Religion,  public 
opinion,  the  form  of  government,  and  legislation 
are  all  influences  of  great  importance.  But  legis- 
lation, as  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  Rousseau, 
gives  only  a  formal  and  official  sanction  to  a 
movement  already  created  by  the  individual  or  by 
public  sentiment.  And  all  influences  can  be  more 
or  less  successfully  counteracted,  in  any  case,  by 
the  parents  themselves,  who  are,  or  should  be,  the 
architects  of  their  offspring's  fate.  This  broad 
latitude  being  left  to  the  individual  family,  we  may 
expect  a  wide  divergence  of  opinion  regarding  the 
ideal  to  be  aimed  at.  But  however  much  authors 
and  critics  differ  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  rigid 
discipline  and  self-government,  they  are  agreed 
that  the  tendency  of  the  nineteenth  century,  which 
Gustave  Lanson  characterizes  as  "idoldlre  de 
renfajice/'^  was  towards  the  emancipation  of  the 
child. 

With  almost  equal  certainty,  it  may  be  said  that 
this  emancipation  has  now  passed  the  high- water 
mark.  Its  excesses  have  either  produced  a  reaction 
or  have  been  followed  by  a  more  or  less  harmonious 
adjustment  of  the  younger  generation  to  condi- 
tions of  broader  freedom.  While  J.  Porcher's 
severe  arraignment  of  French  domestic  education 
— that  parents  catered  to  all  the  whims  of  their 
^  Hist,  de  la  LiU.  Fr.,  loth  ed.,  p.  39. 


136       Brieux  and  French  Society 

children  and  made  them  sovereign  lords  ^ — was 
in  the  main  true  at  the  time  he  wrote  (1897),  it  no 
longer  corresponds  to  the  facts  of  today.  ^  The 
laisser-aller  spirit  following  the  defeat  of  1870 
has  given  way  to  a  firm  determination  to  live,  to  a 
sportsman-like  desire  to  keep  in  the  best  physical 
condition,  as  is  shown  by  the  recent  vogue  of 
athletic  sports  in  France.  ^  One  result  is  a  greater 
seriousness  and  sense  of  responsibility  on  the  part 
of  children,  which  contributes  much  towards  the 
elimination  of  disobedience  and  family  differences. 
And  the  domestic  influence  of  these  same  young 
people  in  their  r61e  as  future  parents  is  still  more 
promising. 

If  we  are  to  believe  Andre  Lichtenberger,  the 
new  generation,  which  is  said  to  prefer  Pascal  to 
Voltaire,  "*  cares  little  for  ministerial  programmes, 
sterile  political  wrangling,  and  anti-clericalism.^ 
Instead  of  tearing  down,  these  young  people,  hav- 
ing broken  their  "chains,"^  intend  to  build  up. 
They  have  a  horror  of  Renan's  ironical  smile  and 

*  P.  118  of  this  Chapter. 

» So  a  competent  authority,  M.  Adrien  [Bertrand,  informs 
me. 

3Alphonse  Sdch6  speaks  of  "cet  extraordinaire  dlan  sportif 
que  Ton  constate  partout,  lequel  a  modifi6  en  quelque  sorte  T^tat 
d'ame  des  generations  nouvelles."  Le  Caract^re  de  la  Poisie 
Contemp.,  p.  86. 

<  A.  Beaunier,  Deux  Mondes,  Sept.  i,  1913. 

5  Le  Sang  Nouveau  (19 14),  p.  84.  Ernest  Psichari,  a  grandson 
of  Renan,  says:  "II  faut  agir.  II  faut  oubher  les  incertitudes, 
les  discussions,  steriles  du  passe."     L'Appel  des  Armes,  p.  119. 

^  A.  Beaunier,  Deux  Mondes,  Sept.  i,  191 3. 


Relation  of  Parents  and  Children  137 

his  dilettantism.  ^  As  pragmatists,  disciples  of  a  . 
Boutronx  and  a  Bergson,  they  reject  uncertainty 
and  ideology  (in  its  depreciative  sense)  and  de- 
mand an  active  life  of  immediate  realities. '  But 
notwithstanding  their  disgust  at  vain  political 
quibbling,  they  will  take  care  not  to  imitate  their 
fathers  by  delegating  their  legislative  business  to  a 
"band  of  demagogues.'*^ 

According  to  a  phrase  often  attributed  to  Alfred 
Capus,  then,  tout  s'arrange.  It  is  impossible  to  x 
determine  to  what  extent  the  spirit  of  the  new 
generation  may  be  due  to  the  influence  of  such  men 
as  Bourget,  Brieux,  Barres,  Bergson,  Boutroux, 
and  Bordeaux;  or  whether  democracy  has  suc- 
ceeded, as  Legouve  believed  it  inevitably  would 
succeed,  in  bridging  the  gulf  between  parents  and 
children,  so  that  now  fathers  and  mothers  may 
be  as  fond  as  Mme.  Graindor  without  any  of  her 
foolishness.  The  change  may  be  due  largely  to 
the  general  law  of  reaction.  How^ever  this  may  be, 
for  the  present  we  are  glad  to  content  ourselves 
with  the  opinions  of  critics,  who  see  in  the  change 
an  accomplished  fact  destined  to  last.  And  the 
splendid  bearing  of  the  young  French  soldier  in  the 
present  war  confirms  this  optimism. 

'  Gaston  Riou,  Aux  Ecoutes  de  la  France  qui  Vient  (1913). 
'  Paul  Flat,  "  La  Jeune  Generation,"  Rev.  Bkue,  Feb.  i,  1913. 
ilhid. 


CHAPTER  VI 

POLITICS  IN  RECENT  FRENCH  LITERATURE 

VEngrenage  (Brieux) — La  Vie  Puhlique  (Fabre) 
— Le  Candidal  (Flaubert) — Le  Depute  Leveau 
(Lemaitre) — La  Crise  (Boniface) — Une  Journee 
Parlementaire  (Barres) — La  Proie  (Berenger) — 
Les  Morts  Qui  Parlent  (Vogiie) — La  Poigne  (Jul- 
lien) — Les  Parlementeurs  (Daudet) — Leurs  Figures 
(Barres) — Robert  Perceval  (Lefevre). 

IN  the  life  of  a  modern  nation,  everything  ends  in 
politics  or  is  indirectly  influenced  by  politics.  ^ 
This  is  true  particularly  of  a  country  like  France, 
which,  besides  her  million  functionaries  dependent 
upon  political  favour,  her  hordes  of  tried  and 
untried  politicians  and ''duly  recommended  "office- 
seekers,  possesses  scores  of  former  cabinet  minis- 
ters, "ministrables,"  and  aspirants  to  that  honour 
awaiting  an  opportunity  to  ''serve  the  people."'' 

^  H.  Bordeaux,  La  Peur  de  Vivre,  p.  xlv.  Cf.  Mme.  de  Stael: 
"Political  institutions  alone  can  form  the  character  of  a  nation." 
{De  VAllemagne,  pt.  i,  ch.  2.)  Lamartine,  carried  away  by  his 
political  ardour  in  1848,  exclaimed:  "I  regret  the  poetry  I  com- 
posed in  the  indolence  of  my  youth:  my  real  vocation  is  politics." 

2  In  Chapter  IV,  we  have  noted  the  tendency  of  the  French  peo- 
ple to  regard  the  State  as  a  responsible  protector  and  dispenser  of 
favours.  CJ. :  E.  Demolins,  La  Superiorite  des  Anglo-Saxons  (1897), 

138 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  139 

For  a  hundred  years  the  French  have  occupied 
themselves  more  with  poUtical  questions  than 
with  social  and  moral  reforms.  Even  when  con- 
sidering social  reforms,  they  have  had  a  politi- 
cal arriere-pensee.  ^ 

This  abnormal  political  activity,  while  due  to 
various  influences,  can  be  traced  primarily,  like 
so  many  other  problems  of  France,  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  adjusting  the  New  Regime  to  the  Old.  ^ 
The  breaking  up  of  the  Old  Regime  let  loose  a 
deluge  of  Utopian  theories,  with  infinite  attendant 
wrangling  and  political  oratory. 

With  all  her  array  of  political  advisers,  France 
is  still  seeking  her  destiny.  ^  Her  statesmen  have 
repeatedly  diagnosed  her  case.  Various  ones  have 
prescribed  treatment  guaranteed  to  cure  her  ills. 
Yet  her  political  diiferences  remain  unsettled. 
Is  it  true,  as  certain  statesmen  and  critics  main- 
tain, that  these  troubles  are  due  to  the  present 
parliamentary  system  of  government  based  on 
universal  suffrage  ?     Or  would  the  system  work,  if 

p.  30;  G.  Deherme,  La  Crise  Soc,  1910,  p.  156.  According  to  E. 
Dimnet  {France  Herself  Again,  1914,  p.  259),  however,  govern- 
ment careers  are  at  present  comparatively  deserted  in  France. 

'  J.  Gaultier,  Rev.  Bleue,  Apr.  25,  1914. 

*  In  Gaston  Riou's  recent  book,  Aux  Ecoutes  de  la  France  qui 
Vient,  we  read:  "M.  Seippel,  one  of  the  ablest  writers  of  our 
neighbour  Republic  [Switzerland],  was  justified  in  giving  to  his 
work  on  modern  France  the  title  Les  Deux  France.  The  expression 
is  literally  true.     The  Revolution  caused  a  schism  in  our  country." 

3  "La  Revolution  fran^aise  a  fond6  une  societe,  elle  cherche 
encore  son  gouvemement."  Pr^vost-Paradol,  La  France  Nouvelle 
(1868),  p.  296. 


I40       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  machinery  were  entrusted  to  the  right  men? 
For  those  responsible  for  the  operation  of  the 
system  are  more  bitterly  assailed,  if  possible,  than 
the  system  itself.  Finally,  what  substitute  do  the 
adversaries  of  the  present  system  propose? 

These  are  questions  about  which  the  French  peo- 
ple differ  radically.  Naturally  a  foreigner  would 
be  presumptuous  to  hold  an  opinion  about  their 
solution,  unless  he  obtained  it  from  French  sources. 
Should  the  testimony  which  I  am  to  offer  of  French 
men  of  letters — particularly  dramatists  and  novel- 
ists— seem  biased,  the  investigator  is  not  to  blame 
if  one  of  the  two  sides  fails  to  submit  its  evidence. 

It  is  but  natural  that  the  French  parliamentary 
system  should  receive  criticism,  since,  in  matters  of 
government,  the  established  order  of  things  almost 
invariably  appears  less  desirable  than  conditions 
which  might  be.  For  years  the  great  majority 
of  the  leading  novelists  and  men  of  thought  who 
have  shaped  literary  opinion  in  France  have  been 
hostile  to  the  present  ideals  of  republican  demo- 
cracy. '  That  is  why  they  attribute  to  politicians 
the  basest  ambition,  the  most  absolute  doctrinal 
skepticism,  and  an  arrivisme  feroce. 

A  whole  literature  of  satire  [says  J.  Lux],  full 
of  spirit  and  power,  and  noteworthy  for  such  master- 
pieces as  Leurs  Figures,  has  developed  in  the  last 
thirty  years.     From  the  date  of  Numa  Roumestan 

»  Exceptions  are  Hugo,  Zola,  Anatole  France,  and  certain 
contemporary  realists. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  141 

and  Le  Depute  Leveau  down  to  our  own  time,  the 
wrath  of  writers  has  been  growing. ' 

This  critic  makes  the  assertion  that  even  the 
partisans  of  radical  convictions  are  not  less  im- 
placable than  the  conservatives  toward  the 
representatives  of  universal  suffrage. 

And  yet  people  express  surprise  [he  goes  on  to  say], 
that  our  young  university-trained  men  should  mani- 
fest so  little  enthusiasm  for  the  republican  regime. 
Still  greater  is  the  discredit  of  parliamentary  govern- 
ment among  the  middle  classes.^  For  this  discredit 
the  shameful  "errors"  of  Parliament  are  chiefly  to 
blame ;  but  it  is  unquestionable  that  influential  authors 
have  greatly  disseminated  and  intensified  the  hostility. 

After  making  all  due  allowance  for  partisan 
exaggerations,  we  must  admit  that  the  violent 
tone  in  which  French  politicians  and  universal 
suffrage  are  denounced  sets  a  new  record. 

At  the  present  time  [says  the  political  economist, 
Paul  Leroy-Beaulieu]  politicians  of  all  grades,  from 
city  councillors  to  cabinet  ministers,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, represent  a  class  of  the  vilest,  most  narrow- 
minded  sycophants  that  mankind  has  ever  known. 
Their  sole  aim  is  to  flatter  and  encourage  popular 
prejudices,  which,   however,   they  themselves   share 

'  "La  Politique  et  les  Lettres,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Feb.  13,  1909. 

'  Albert  Desjardins,  a  high  official  of  the  French  judiciary, 
speaks  of  France  as  "ce  pays  ou  la  politique  impregne  et  corrompt 
tout.  .  .  ."    X^  Liberie  dans  TEtat  Moderne  (iSg^y,  p,  g^. 


142        Brieux  and  French  Society 

vaguely,  for  the  most  part,  since  they  have  never  de- 
voted a  moment's  time  to  reflection  and  observation.  ^ 

Alfred  Fouillee,  an  eminent  philosopher  and 
economist  noted  for  his  reasonable  views,  writes: 
"It  is  held  that  a  people  has  the  government  it 
deserves.  No,  France  does  not  deserve  the  govern- 
ment imposed  upon  it  by  the  caste  of  usurpers 
called  politicians."''  Similarly  Jules  Roche,  a 
former  minister  of  the  Republic,  concludes,  in  a 
serious  study  of  the  French  parliamentary  sys- 
tem: "We  are  the  worst  governed  country  in  the 
world."  ^  After  such  denunciations,  even  the  epi- 
thets of  a  conservative  like  Bourget  sound  mild. 
Stigmatizing  the  members  of  Parliament  as  the 
"quinze-mille,^'  "^  he  declares  that  these  representa- 
tives are  not  an  unfortunate  exception,  but  the 
inevitable  consequence  of  the  electoral  system. 
Universal  suffrage,  according  to  Emile  Faguet,  is 
the  cause  of  what  he  terms  the  intellectual  and 
moral  incompetency  of  French  legislators.  ^ 

Despite  the  importance  of  French  political  life 
for  more  than  a  century,  the  novel  and  the  drama 
began  to  wield  a  sharp  rod  of  parliamentary  satire 
only  about  forty  years  ago.  ^     In  the  eighteenth 

'  Traits  d'Econ.  Pol.,  4th  ed.,  vol.  iv,  p.  618. 

"  La  France  au  point  de  vue  moral  (1900),  p.  407. 

3  Figaro,  June  11,  1897. 

4  Pages  de  Crit.,  ii,  2)7'  THs  epithet  has  reference  to  the  fact 
that  in  1907  the  members  of  Parliament  passed  a  law  raising  their 
salary  from  9000  to  15,000  francs  a  year. 

5  Culte  de  V Incompetence  (19 10),  p.  24. 

^  Fenelon's  Dialogues  dcs  Morts  and   Tclemague    were  veiled 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  143 

century,  such  attempts  were  limited  to  a  few 
dramas,  directed  against  the  tax-gatherers  {Tur- 
caret  and  Marivaux's  Le  Triomphe  de  Plutus),  or 
against  judicial  and  nobiliary  abuses  {Figaro). 
Llarie- Joseph  Chenier  and  the  authors  of  the 
revolutionary  period  are  unimportant  in  this 
respect.  Nor  did  the  First  Empire,  the  Restor- 
ation, or  the  July  Monarchy  produce  anything 
noteworthy,  except  perhaps  certain  political  novels 
of  Balzac.^  Even  under  the  Second  Empire,  the 
"intellectuals,"  while  for  the  most  part  cordially 
detesting  the  established  order  of  things,  did  not 
find  in  the  existing  form  of  parliamentary  govern- 
ment material  for  literary  satire.  ^ 

All  this  time  the  writers  of  the  Hberal  opposition 
yearned  for  a  return  to  the  Republic,  which  they 
thought  of  as  ''si  belle, ^^  according  to  Victor 
Giraud,  simply  because  it  did  not  exist.  ^     They 

criticisms  of  the  political  abuses  of  the  seventeenth  century.  And 
we  still  marvel  at  the  mordant  satire  of  La  Bruyere's  Caracteres. 
But  the  same  spirit  would  not  have  been  tolerated  on  the  stage. 

*  Esp.  Albert  Savarus  and  Le  Depute  d'Arcis.  The  latter  gives 
but  a  distorted  salon-idea  of  French  politics.  The  only  incident 
characteristic  of  our  time  is  the  scene  which  represents  the  voters 
bargaining  with  the  various  candidates  (pt.  ii,  ch.  xvii).  In 
Albert  Savarus,  it  Is  a  question  of  government  candidacy  (under 
the  July  Monarchy)  based  on  a  system  of  intrigue. 

'  Unless  we  count  such  a  work  as  Feuillet's  M.  de  Camors 
(1867).  This  novel  represents  an  electoral  campaign  under  the 
Second  Empire  as  purely  a  matter  of  diplomacy  and  strategy. 

3  "Bilan  de  la  Generation  litter,  de  1870,"  Deux  Mondes,  Jan. 
I,  19 14.  Jules  Lemaitre  tells  us  that  in  i860  almost  the  entire 
body  of  students  were  republicans  and  sworn  enemies  of  the 
Empire.     Rev.  Bleue,  June  13,  1885. 


144       Brieux  and  French  Society 

were  convinced  that  the  hallowed  Revolutionary 
principles  of  liberty  and  equality  would,  if  given 
a  fair  trial,  adjust  political  differences.  Thus 
the  partisans  of  the  Third  Republic  at  first  had 
unbounded  faith  in  their  representatives.  "They 
believed  in  the  possibility  of  emulation  from  noble 
motives,"  says  Frederic  Loliee.  "Words  had  a 
strange  power.  A  fever  of  credulity  animated 
those  who  uttered  them  and  those  who  received 
them  with  eager  ear.*'^  This  fact  would  account 
for  the  comparatively  few  political  dramas  and 
novels  between  1870  and  1890.^  But  the  ardour 
of  voters  had  cooled  even  before  the  Panama 
scandal  (1893),  which  disillusioned  the  credulous 
and  gravely  compromised  parliamentary  govern- 
ment.^ From  this  date  on,  dramas  and  novels 
dealing  with  political  life  and  the  indispensable 
*'cheguards**  sprang  up  like  mushrooms.^ 

*  "L'Homme  pol.  h.  la  sc^ne  et  dans  le  llvre,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  8, 
1902. 

'Sardou,  Rahagas  (1872);  Flaubert,  Le  Candidal  (1874);  A. 
Daudet,  iVMmo  Roumestan  (1880);  Jules  Claretie,  M.  le  Ministre 
(188 1);  Candidal  (1887) ;  Jules  Lemaitre,  Le  Depute  Leveau  (1890). 

3  H.  Roux-Costadan,  a  member  of  Parliament,  writing  recently, 
says:  "The  enthusiasms  of  yesterday  have  faded  away.  The 
miracle  of  the  loaves  and  fishes  has  not  been  performed.  Hopes 
are  shattered.  The  charm  is  broken."  Le  Matin,  Jan.  29, 
1914. 

4  Omitting  such  questions  as  religion  and  race  antagonism, 
we  get  the  following  partial  list  between  1894  and  19 12: 

1894  UEngrenage  (Brieux). 

1894  line  Journee  Parlementaire  (Barres). 

1894  Cabotins  (Pailleron). 

1895  La  Crise  (Maurice  Boniface). 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  145 

These  works  profess  to  scrutinize  and  test 
everything  from  the  basic  principles  of  1789  to 
the  latest  phases  of  poHtical  life  manifested  in 
such  details  as  local  elections,  judicial  matters, 
military  affairs,  and  colonial  government.  Sys- 
tems and  institutions  are  attacked;  legislators 
and  functionaries  are  arraigned  and  vilified.  In 
their  efforts  to  unmask  bribery  and  scandal,  while 
some  authors  remain  sober  and  sincere,  others 
become  spiteful  muck-rakers.  To  complicate  the 
situation,  the  regrettable  "Affaire"  intensifies  the 
bitterness  and  finally  necessitates  a  partial  re- 
grouping of  political  parties. 

In  this  heterogenous  mass  of  political  literature, 
the  predominating  theme,  the  principle  most  vio- 

1897     Les  Deracines  (Barr^s),  La  Proie  (Bdrenger). 

1897  Le  Repas  duLion  (Curel),  Les  Deux  Noblesses  (Lavedan). 

1898  Les  Mauvais  Bergers  (Mirbeau). 

\  1899  Les  Marts  Qui  Parlent  (Vogue),  Le  Ferment  (Estaunid). 

1900  La  Robe  Rouge  (Brieux). 

1900  La  Clair iere  (Donnay  and  Descaves). 

1900  Robert  Perceval  (Lefevre). 

1 90 1  La  Vie  Publigue  (Fabre). 

1 90 1  Le  Pays  des  Parlementeurs  (L.  Daudet). 

1902  Leurs  Figures  (Barres). 

1902  UEtape  (Bourget),  La  Poigne  (Jullien). 

1903  Les    Affaires    (Mirbeau),   Clarisse    Arbois  (Boniface). 

1905  Les  Ventres  Dares  (Fabre). 

1906  La  Griff e  (Bernstein),  V Attentat  (Capus  and  Descaves). 

1908  Le  Payer  (Mirbeau). 

1909  La  Rencontre  (Bertin). 

19 10  La  Barricade  (Bourget). 

191 1  Le  Tribun  (Bourget),  UApotre  (Loyson). 

191 1  Les  Sauterdles  {Fahre). 

1912  La  Crise  (Bourget  and  Beaunier). 

JO 


146        Brieux  and  French  Society 

lently  assailed,  is  naturally  the  dogma  of  politi- 
cal equality.  For  with  universal  suffrage  in  its 
present  sense  the  whole  parliamentary  system 
stands  or  falls.  Many  writers  condemn  universal 
suffrage  without  reserve.  Others  at  least  deplore 
the  evils  resulting  from  it,  though  by  no  means 
convinced  that  a  system  based  on  unequal  suffrage 
would  be  practicable.  To  this  second  group 
belong  Eugene  Brieux  and  Emile  Fabre,  the  two 
dramatists  who,  in  their  respective  works,  VEngre- 
nage  and  La  Vie  Puhlique,  have  treated  the  theme 
with  what  will  seem  to  an  impartial  foreigner  the 
most  satisfactory  results. 

VEngrenage  {The  Cogwheels)  is  the  story  of  a 
charitable  and  upright  manufacturer,  Remoussin, 
who  in  the  serious  sense  of  the  word  "consents'* 
to  become  a  political  candidate.  The  tactics  of  uni- 
versal suffrage  impose  upon  him  one  capitulation 
of  conscience  after  another  until  he  finds  himself 
implicated  in  a  bribery  scandal,  from  which  he 
succeeds  in  extricating  himself  only  at  the  expense 
of  his  good  name,  whereas  the  big  thieves  with 
serene  conscience  are  not  dishonoured.  The  com- 
edy was  first  played  by  the  Cercle  des  Escholiers 
(Comedie  Parisienne),  May  16,  1894,  and  later 
in  the  same  year  by  the  troupe  of  the  Theatre  des 
Nouveaut6s.  The  first  and  last  acts  are  set  in  a 
provincial  city;  the  second,  in  Paris.  No  play 
of  Brieux  suffers  more  in  analysis  than  this, 
because  in  none  are  there  subtler  shades  of  humour 
in  the  dialogue. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  147 

Not  having  obtained  a  majority  in  the  regular 
election,  owing  to  his  uncompromising  integrity, 
Remoussin,  who  cares  more  for  his  factory  than  for 
the  diversions  of  Parisian  life,  refuses  to  carry  the 
contest  to  a  second  balloting.  Finally,  however, 
he  yields  to  the  persuasive  appeals  of  his  friend 
Morin,  a  senator,  and  a  deputation  of  voters,  but 
only  on  condition  that  there  be  no  pressure,  no 
treating,  no  promises.^  Remoussin's  object  in 
entering  politics  is  to  render  his  country  some 
much-needed  service.  His  ideal  is  a  journalist 
named  Balbigny,  whose  daily  articles  expose  with 
implacable  severity  the  incompetency  of  ministers 
and  deputies.  In  reading  these,  his  blood  boils  with 
indignation.  ^  Remoussin  declares  that,  if  elected, 
he  will  not  vote  for  the  duty  on  wheat.  Senator 
IMorin  remarks  that  he  need  only  say  that  he  will 
vote  for  it:  w^hen  the  measure  comes  up,  he  can 
feign  illness.^  But,  he  points  out,  since  Remous- 
sin's district  is  made  up  largely  of  farmers,  it  would 

^  Thus  Remoussin  becomes  entangled  in  the  political  "cog- 
wheels." Likewise  in  Vogue's  Les  Morts  Qui  Parlent  (ch.  vi),  the 
peasantry  implore  Andarran — that  is,  ]M.  de  Vogue  himself — to 
save  them  from  the  "wolf"  by  consenting  to  become  a  candidate. 
Andarran  at  first  refuses,  but  finding  it  impossible  to  resist  the 
peasants,  he  finally  yields. 

*  When  Barral  attempts  to  persuade  Perraud  to  stand,  the 
latter  refuses,  saying:  "I  know  too  well  the  uselessness  of  the 
effort  of  one  honest  man  against  so  many."     La  Poigne,  i. 

3  M.  de  Greges,  one  of  Jules  Lemaitre's  politicians,  goes  hunting 
to  avoid  committing  himself  in  such  cases.  (Le  Depute  Leveau, 
i,  2.)  Pegomas,  M.  de  Laversee's  campaign  manager  in  Cahotins 
(1894),  promises  everything  in  the  candidate's  name,'  but  says 
to  him:  "Once  elected,  you  can  settle  those  details." 


148       Brieux  and  French  Society 

be  his  duty  to  protect  their  interests,  regardless  of 
the  general  interests  of  France.^  When  Remous- 
sin  again  pleads  for  a  strictly  honest  campaign, 
Morin  convinces  him  that  threats  are  absolutely 
necessary  to  meet  those  of  the  opposing  side;  they 
must  pit  terror  against  terror.  Remoussin  having 
again  yielded,  Morin  proceeds  to  do  vvhat  he  will. 
An  innkeeper  intends  to  intimidate  the  merchants 
from  whom  he  buys  supplies  by  threatening  to 
boycott  them  if  Vaudrey,  Remoussin 's  opponent, 
is  elected.  "^  "With  public  charity  in  his  hands,  the 
village  mayor  practically  marks  the  ballots  of  the 
poor.  Taulard,  a  voter  in  the  district,  is  circulat- 
ing a  whale  story:  Vaudrey  keeps  in  his  park 
a  whale  which  consumes  an  enormous  amount 
of  grain  each  day ;  when  the  people  learn  why  they 

» The  triumph  of  local  and  personal  interests  over  national 
interests  is  satirized  by  Feuillet.  (ilf.  de  Camors,  pt.  ii,  ch.  i.) 
G.  de  Rivaliere  thinks  that  a  politician's  attitude,  at  present,  is 
determined  by  interests  and  passions  of  the  moment,  rarely  by  an 
idea  or  a  principle.  (Rev.  Bleue,  Jan.  11,  1896.)  Scherer  remarks 
sarcastically:  "What's  a  deputy  for,  if  not  to  look  after  the  inter- 
ests of  his  district?"  (La  Dem.  et  la  France,  p.  26.)  "Nobody 
will  gainsay  the  statement,"  Ernest  Dimnet  has  recently  de- 
clared, "that  since  1876  .  .  .  the  deputies  have  sought  primarily 
their  own  advantage,  and  thought  of  the  country's  welfare  only  in 
connection  with  it. "  (France  Herself  Again,  p.  68.)  E.  d'Eich- 
thal  brings  the  same  charge  against  the  legislators  of  France. 
Souverainete  du  Peuple  el  Gouvernement  (1895),  p.  211. 

'  "Paulin  Renard  .  .  .  represente  un  de  ces  departements 
voisins  de  Paris  ou  I'une  des  grosses  industries  est  le  nourrissage 
desenfants  assistes  de  la  Seine.  .  .  .  Un  electeur  vote-t-il  mal? 
Renard  menace  aussit6t  le  delinquent  du  retrait  de  I'enfant.  II 
tient  par  la  tout  son  arrondissement. "  Les  Marts  Qui  Parlent, 
ch.  vii. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  149 

have  no  bread,  they  will  vote  against  him.'  But 
when  Taulard  wants  Remoussin  to  promise  that  he 
will  get  his  son  exempted  from  military  service,  ^  the 
candidate  refuses  with  indignation.  On  Tau- 
lard's  threatening  to  go  and  see  Vaudrey,  however, 
]\Ime.  Remoussin  makes  a  note  of  the  request, 
promising  to  arrange  the  matter  with  the  pre- 
fect's wife.  3     Morin  having  circulated  the  report 


^  Charles  Benoist  assures  us  that  in  1898  in  certain  French 
electoral  districts — even  in  Paris,  also — candidates  defeated 
their  opponents  by  circulating  reports  to  the  effect  that  the  lat- 
ter had  had  cargoes  of  v/heat  sunk  in  the  Atlantic.  {Deux  Mondes, 
Sept.  15,  1898.)  Marie  Antoinette  and  Foullon  were  accused  of 
similar  crimes.  In  H.  Bordeaux's  Le  Lac  Noir,  the  examining 
magistrate  says  (ch.  x) :  "In  the  country  districts,  all  absurdities 
are  believed.  Knowing  this,  candidates  for  ojSice  surpass  Baron 
I^.lunchhausen  himself,  and  the  liar  with  the  greatest  effrontery 
gets  the  biggest  vote." 

2  In  La  Dem.  et  la  France  (p.  34),  Scherer  writes:  "Universal 
suffrage  has  such  an  exalted  conception  of  the  favour  with  which  it 
honours  its  representatives  that  it  does  not  hesitate  to  ask  every 
conceivable  service  of  them.  An  election  thus  becomes  a  com- 
mercial transaction."  Or  again,  according  to  Maurice  Spronck, 
the  voter  says  to  the  candidate:  "In  return  for  my  support,  you 
will  use  your  influence  to  obtain  for  me  favours,  subsidies,  and 
decorations."  The  same  tactics  are  noted  by  Flaubert  {Le 
Candidal)  and  Daudet  {Nurna  Roumestan). 

The  custom  originated  as  early  as  the  Restoration.  Speaking 
of  the  French  Parliament  of  181 7,  E.  Spuller  declares  that  "the 
deputies  of  the  Centre  wanted  offices  for  their  children,  their 
relations,  their  friends,  and  their  constituents;  and  today  our 
deputies  want  offices  just  as  under  the  Restoration.  It  was  the 
upper  bourgeoisie  who  inoculated  the  French  nation  with  this 
poison.  Beneficiaries  of  the  Revolution,  they  treated  France  as  a 
conquered  country."     Royer-CoUard  (1895),  p.  151. 

3  The   situation  is  met   with  repeatedly.      In   Becque's  La 


150       Brieux  and  French  Society 

that  Remoussin  will  vote  for  the  tariff  on  grain, 
he  is  elected  as  a  protectionist,  contrary  to  his 
political  convictions. 

In  Act  II  we  are  in  Remoussin's  office  in  Paris. 
Each  mail  brings  numerous  requests  for  aid,  sub- 
sidies, and  exemptions^ — a  severe  drain  on  the 
deputy's  finance;  for  his  factory,  entrusted  to 
the  management  of  his  prospective  son-in-law,  no 
longer  yields  anything.  But  politically  Remoussin 
has  achieved  great  success  with  a  speech  in  favour 
of  a  tariff  on  wheat.  ^  What  a  thrill  of  pride  he 
feels,  as  he  stands  on  the  rostrum  facing  the 
diplomatic  corps,  knowing  that  every  word  he 
utters  is  being  taken  down  by  stenographers,  to  be 
transmitted  by  wire  to  the  remotest  comers  of 
France  and  of  Europe  I^  Unfortunately  an  act  of 
his  wife  threatens  to  destroy  his  bright  political 
future.  Having  boxed  a  police  officer's  ears  in 
attempting  to  override  a  municipal  regulation, 
because  she  was  a  deputy's  wife,  Mme.  Remoussin 
has  been  arrested.  In  her  dilemma  she  has  ap- 
pealed for  aid  to  Mme.  Bourdier,  the  mistress  of 


Parisienne,  the  mother  of  Clotilda's  lover  obtains  a  position  for 
Clotilde's  husband  after  "  les  hommes  competents "  have  failed. 

^  This  is  a  stock  feature  of  French  parhamentary  life. 

'  D'Arnac,  one  of  Lavedan's  deputies,  makes  a  speech  on  grain 
and  the  tariff  every  year.     Les  Deux  Nohlesses. 

3  "Our  deputies  are  now  nothing  but  tenors.  Beaumarchais's 
dancer  has  been  replaced  by  a  singer.  It  is  not  ideas  that  counts, 
nor  experience  in  public  affairs,  but  the  gift  of  gab."  J,  du  Til- 
let,  Rev.  Bleiie,  Nov.  17,  1900. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  151 

the  Minister  of  the  Interior.^  Mme.  Bourdier 
sends  word  that  Remoussin  must  arrange  the 
matter  with  the  Minister,  who  is  willing  to  receive 
him.  But  can  Remoussin  accept  the  services  of 
a  Minister  whom  he  and  Balbigny  have  always 
designated  with  such  epithets  as  "embezzler," 
"idiot,"  "thief,"  ''canaille''  .  .  .  ?  Still,  rather 
than  let  his  wife's  indiscretion  spoil  his  future,  he 
decides  to  follow  Mme.  Bourdier's  suggestion.  It 
turns  out  that  the  "charming"  reception  accorded 
him  by  the  Minister  fully  justifies  the  humili- 
ation. Remoussin  now  realizes  that  with  their 
provincial  narrowness  he  and  his  wife  "did  not 
understand  the  great  man."  Strange  to  say, 
Balbigny  was  chatting  with  the  Minister  when 
he  called. 

Next  comes  the  best  scene  in  the  play.^  The 
Marquis  de  Stom  calls  in  the  interests  of  the 
Simplon  Timnel  Syndicate.  The  Company  wants 
to  sell  its  rights  to  the  State  for  a  hundred  million 
francs,  and  Remoussin  is  a  member  of  the  parlia- 
mentary commission  appointed  to  examine  the 
proposition.  The  Marquis  is  dignified,  correct, 
and  convincing.  His  cut-and-dried  argument  in 
favour  of  the  Simplon  project  leaves  nothing  to 
be  said.     Everything  is  there,  estimated,  verified, 

^  While  in  the  "provinces,"  the  Remoussins  despised  this  "low 
woman,"  who  now  becomes  their  "chere  cousine." 

'  It  reminds  one  of  Lechat's  interview  with  the  IMarquis  de 
Porcellet,  wliich  is  also  the  best  scene  in  Mirbeau's  Les  Affaires 
Sont  les  Affaires. 


152       Brieux  and  French  Society 

approved,  legalized,  dated,  signed,  stamped  by 
the  Italian  government,  etc.  Our  deputy  prom- 
ises his  support  if,  after  due  examination,  the 
proposition  is  as  he  now  sees  it.  In  starting  to  go, 
the  Marquis  leaves  on  the  desk  a  cheque  for  25,000 
francs.  Remoussin,  deeply  offended,  refuses  the 
cheque.  But  when  the  Marquis  explains  to  Mme. 
Remoussin  that  the  Company  distributes  annually 
a  certain  sum  for  "charity,"  she  accepts  it  for  a 
day-nursery.  Moreover,  the  Marquis  points  out 
to  Remoussin  that  it  is  in  no  sense  a  bribe,  since 
he  had  approved  the  Company's  proposition  before 
the  cheque  was  offered.  In  order  to  overcome 
Remoussin's  last  scruples,  he  shows  him  stubs 
of  his  cheque-book,  ^  where  are  seen,  among  other 
names,  Morin^s  and  (who  would  believe  it?) 
even  Balbigny's  .  .  .  Balbigny,  that  model  of 
integrity!  Morin,  in  congratulating  Remoussin 
on  his  political  "progress,*'  says:  "Vous  voila  dans 
le  mouvementr' 

At  the  opening  of  the  third  act,  the  Remous- 
sins  are  back  in  their  provincial  home.  The  press 
is  investigating  the  Simplon  affair.  The  Marquis 
de  Stom  has  fled  to  England,  and  Remoussin 
is  in  mortal  fear  of  seeing  his  own  name  printed  in 
a  bribery  scandal.  Morin,  better  schooled  in 
political  corruption,  does  not  share  Remoussin's 

*  In  Becque's  Les  PoUchinelles,  the  exploiters  of  the  Metal 
Jmperator  bribe  a  member  of  the  Institute  to  write  up  the  inven- 
tion "scientifically"  for  the  sum  of  20,000  francs,  though  the 
receipt  reads  for  only  10,000  francs. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  153 

nervousness.  Mme.  Bourdier  gives  assurance 
that  even  if  other  names  should  be  mentioned  in 
the  report,  the  Minister  will  suppress  Remoussin's.  ^ 
When,  however,  it  is  reported  that  both  Remous- 
sin  and  Morin  are  in  the  fatal  list,  but  that  Bal- 
bigny  has  escaped,  Remoussin  issues  a  statement 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  so-called  bribe, 
resigns  his  office,  and  pays  back  the  25,000  francs. 
On  receiving  news  that  the  Simplon  investigation 
is  to  be  buried,  Mme.  Remoussin  reproaches  her 
husband  for  his  stupidity :  "  If  you  had  kept  quiet, 
we  should  be  25,000  francs  better  off,  and  without 
dishonour.  "^  In  the  final  scene,  a  disorderly  mob 
having  congregated  before  Remoussin's  residence, 
the  ex-deputy  throws  his  official  badge  at  the  mani- 
festants  with  the  words:  ''Between  you,  the 
representatives  of  universal  suffrage,  and  me,  the 
mandatory,  there  is  mutual  corruption.  ^     Outside 

^  Scathing  satire  on  woman's  influence  in  politics  is  found  in 
Capus's  L'Aventurier  (1910),  where  the  Baroness  presumes  to 
announce,  if  not  dictate,  the  Prime  Alinister's  official  decisions. 
In  L'Adversatre  (1903),  by  the  same  author,  Mme.  Brcautin  at 
least  predicts  ministerial  appointments.  In  M.  Boniface's  comedy, 
Clarisse  Arbois  (1903),  the  old  Duchess  makes  and  unmakes 
ministries.  Lechat,  however,  who  is  determined  to  purchase  a 
seat  in  the  Chamber,  distrusts  women  in  politics.  Les  Affaires 
(Mirbeau). 

"  "Very  practical,  these  wives  of  deputies  will  hear  nothing 
of  restitution:  You  dishonoured  us  by  accepting  money,  but  you 
would  ruin  us  in  wishhig  to  return  it^  P.  Gaultier,  "  La  Caricature 
de  Alceurs  en  France,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Sept.  8,  1897. 

3  "Under  the  French  parliamentary  system  democracy  is  not 
the  victim  but  the  voluntary  accomplice  of  the  evil  wrought." 
J.  E.  Bodley,  France,  ii,  129. 


154       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Morin  begins  a  speech:  ''My  friends,  the  common 
people's  happiness  is  my  earnest  desire.  ..." 
To  this  all  shout  ''Vive  Morin!'''- 

The  scene  of  La  Vie  Publique  {Public  Life)^ 
which  was  first  produced  at  the  Renaissance 
Theatre,  in  1901,  seven  years  after  VEngreyiage^  is 
laid  in  Salente  (that  is,  Marseilles'').  Four  political 
parties  are  in  the  field:  the  radical  socialists  led 
by  Ferrier,  the  Mayor  of  Salente ;  the  labour  party, 
whose  candidate  is  Marechal,  a  smooth-tongued 
demagogue;  the  clericals,  represented  by  Petit- 
champ  ;  the  royalists,  with  the  Marquis  de  Riols  at 
their  head.  We  are  told  that  the  present  radical 
socialist  council  is  the  first  respectable  body  of 
municipal  officers  that  Salente  has  had  in  ten 
years.  Indeed,  their  predecessors  were  arrested 
for  bribery.  The  terms  "graft,"  ''rake-off," 
"bribery,"  "embezzlement"  are  in  the  air.  The 
capital  issue  is,  whether  the  Quartier  de  VEveche 
shall  be  expropriated  and  rebuilt  for  sanitary 
reasons.  The  newspapers  and  all  the  candidates 
for  the  mayoralty  except  Ferrier  favour  expropri- 
ation.    Ferrier  opposes  the  project  on  account  of 

^  An  identical  situation  in  Fabre's  Les  Venires  Dores  (1905). 

^  "Emile  Fabre  is  a  young  member  of  the  Marseilles  bar.  It 
is  from  his  native  city  that  he  brings  us  those  tableaux  of  munici- 
pal elections  pulsating  with  truth,  in  which,  under  the  name  of 
Ferrier,  mayor  of  Salente,  the  inhabitants  of  the  great  Phocean 
city  will  recognize  their  celebrated  compatriot,  M.  Flaissieres, 
struggling  in  the  midst  of  local  intrigues  in  which  the  street  car 
strike,  that  caused  so  much  comment  in  the  press,  plays  a  pre- 
dominant part. "     E.  Stoullig,  Annates  (i 901),  p.  437. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  155 

the  enormous  expense  it  would  necessitate.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  proposes  to  build  schools  and 
hospitals,  in  order  to  check  clerical  influence.  The 
Mayor  has  made  many  enemies  by  his  straight- 
forwardness and  his  refusal  to  stoop  to  crooked 
compromises.  A  dangerous  opponent  is  Senator 
Guebriant,  a  hrassetir  d'affaires  vereuses. 

The  indecisive  results  of  the  first  election  vex 
Ferrier  who,  like  Remoussin,  has  neglected  his 
factory  in  the  interests  of  public  welfare.  The 
labour  unions  and  syndicates  now  offer  to  support 
him  in  return  for  higher  wages,  shorter  hours,  etc. 
At  the  same  time,  Guebriant's  mistress  proposes 
an  alliance  between  Ferrier  and  her  lover,  in  the 
hope  of  furthering  the  Senator's  political  plans. 
The  Mayor  considers  the  humiliating  proposition 
while  entering  into  negotiations  with  the  royalists 
and  the  clericals.^  At  the  conference,  presided 
over  by  Monseigneur  de  Belmont,  a  thoroughly 
lifelike  character,  representatives  of  the  banking 
interests  and  of  the  tramway  company  are  also 
present.  ^  This  is  the  strongest  scene  in  the  play, 
and  one  of  the  best  in  the  entire  recent  drama. 
Propositions  are  made  and  considered.  All  par- 
ties are  fair  and  calm,  but  firm.  Finally,  Ferrier 
accepts  the  expropriation  issue  in  spite  of  himself, 
promising  numerous  favours.  The  negotiations 
once  closed,  he  sits  as  if  stunned  by  the  enormity 
of  his  capitulations.     So  when  an  editor  who  has 

*  Like  Remoussin,  he  becomes  entangled  in  the  engrenage. 
''Fabre  has  a  similar  scene  in  Les  Vaingiieurs  (ii,  4). 


156       Brieux  and  French  Society 

been  violently  attacking  him  comes  to  offer  his 
support  if  Ferrier  will  place  his  son's  name  on  the 
ticket,  the  Mayor  cries  out  in  a  thundering  voice : 
*'I'm  tired  of  all  this  trickery  that  I'm  in  over  my 
head  .  .  .  tired  of  shaking  hands  with  rascals  in 
order  to  get  votes.  .  .  .  To  cheat  and  be  cheated, 
to  lie,  to  corrupt  and  be  corrupted,  and  promise, 
promise,  positions,  jobs,  money  .  .  ,  I've  got 
enough  of  it!** 

But  after  all,  he  finds  it  necessary  to  seek  Gue- 
briant's  aid.  And  when  his  cause  seems  hope- 
lessly lost,  he  is  saved,  at  the  last  moment,  by 
the  returns  from  the  precincts  controlled  by  Gue- 
briant.  In  his  joy,  Ferrier,  forgetting  all  his 
former  ideals,  embraces  the  Senator's  mistress, 
who  has  come  to  congratulate  him.^ 

Thus  the  once  stern,  uncompromising  Mayor  has 
become  the  protege  of  the  Catholics,  the  ally  of  the 
royalists,  the  tool  of  the  moneyed  interests.  He  has 
accepted  the  expropriation  issue,  abandoned  his 
school  and  hospital  projects,  promised  favours  and 
exemptions  right  and  left. 

Such  is  universal  suffrage. 

La  Vie  Puhlique,  which  shows  essentially  the 
same  results  of  universal  suffrage  as  L'Engrenage, 
is  a  stronger  drama.  It  is  more  vivid,  lifelike,  and 
human.  Brieux's  piece  is  exceedingly  humorous, 
even  to  the  point  of  farce;  Fabre's  is  serious  from 
beginning  to  end.     And  its  realism  would  satisfy 

'  Similarly,  the  Remoussins  owe  everything  to  their  "chere 
cousine  Bourdier." 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  157 

a  Flaubert.  In  painting  his  milieu,  he  has  shown 
art  superior  to  Brieux's.  His  success  would  have 
been  even  greater,  had  his  work  been  more  con- 
densed. The  second  act  to  some  extent  covers  the 
purpose  of  the  third.  ^  The  play  is  overcharged 
with  episodes.  Each  particular  incident,  we 
readily  admit,  may  be  taken  straight  from  life; 
but  the  imagination  cannot  conceive  of  so  many 
incidents  in  one  election.  ^ 

Parts  of  Brieux's  work  are  excellent.  The  first 
act  is  uniformly  good — for  its  comedy,  its  exposi- 
tion of  character,  and  the  vskilful  introduction  cf 
argument  to  support  the  author's  thesis.  Nothing 
in  the  play  is  better  than  the  scenes  of  the  second 
act  in  which  the  Marquis  de  Stom  appears.  Sober, 
delicately  handled,  natural,  they  are  without  the 
slightest  tinge  of  caricature.  But  IMme.  Remous- 
sin's  arrest  is  handled  a  bit  clumsily;  the  matter 
would  have  been  reported  to  the  press  immediately, 
whereas  Lime.  Remoussin  keeps  it  from  her  hus- 
band for  several  days.  Still  less  probable,  from 
the  standpoint  of  technique,  is  Remoussin's  inter- 


^  This  device  is  a  heritage  of  the  naturalist  school,  whose 
process  was  to  "juxtaposer  des  tableaux  nuances  et  degrades  de 
fagon  a  nous  faire  assister  a  la  progressive  decheance  d'un  carac- 
tcre."  (R.  Doumic,  Deux  Alondes,  Nov.  i,  1901.)  The  same 
process  can  be  detected  in  VEngrenage. 

*  The  following  interesting  details  by  Fabre  himself  explain 
in  part  his  success  in  the  political  drama.  "I  always  take  notes 
for  a  long  time  in  advance,"  he  says.  "For  La  Vie  Publigtie 
I  had  for  sever:il  years  attended  political  meetings,  carefully 
studying  the  language  and  psychology  of  the  voting  masses." 


158       Brieux  and  French  Society 

view  with  the  Minister,  for  only  a  one-minute 
scene  takes  place  on  the  stage  while  the  conference 
is  supposed  to  be  held.  Then  often  the  comedy  is 
so  light  that  we  cannot  take  Remoussin  seriously 
enough.^  Except  in  a  few  situations,  he  is  too 
credulous  and  yields  too  naively  to  the  temptations 
of  the  engrenage.  For  the  sake  of  contrast,  at 
other  times,  he  is  too  emphatic  in  his  determin- 
ation to  live  up  to  his  ideals.  Such  exaggeration 
mars  the  dramatic  illusion.  The  value  is  not 
lessened  in  the  least  of  plays  by  Courteline  and 
Tristan  Bernard  that  one  would  rarely  take  their 
characters  seriously:  it  is  evident  that  they  are 
intended  only  as  exaggerations.  But  in  a  play  like 
UEngrenage,  dealing  with  vital  national  inter- 
ests, the  principal  characters  should  keep  at  a  safe 
distance  from  farce.  If  Brieux's  purpose  had  been 
to  amuse  rather  than  to  persuade  and  reform,  he 
v/ould  have  succeeded  admirably. 

Brieux  is  hopeful  of  reform  despite  the  ironical 
conclusion  of  the  play,  with  its  emphasis  on  the 
stupidity  and  ingratitude  of  the  populace.  In  a 
drama  exposing  the  evils  of  universal  suffrage,  it  is 
natural  that  blame  should  rest  on  the  voters  as 
well  as  on  their  representatives.  Yet  in  spite  of 
the  discouraging  outlook,   reform  is  possible  so 

^  R.  Doumic  diagnoses  thus  the  inherent  weakness,  so  to  speak 
of  political  comedy:  "Of  necessity  it  neglects  the  vital  interests 
that  are  involved,  minimizes  the  importance  of  the  questions  it 
broaches,  substitutes  the  satire  of  persons  for  the  play  of  ideas, 
and  replaces  living  characters  by  marionettes  intended  to  make 
stupid  people  laugh."     Rev.  Bleue^Msn.  19,  1892. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  159 

long  as  the  tempted  repent  and  regain  their  self- 
respect. 

VEngreyiage  refutes  brilliantly  the  claim  that 
politics  is  unwelcome  in  the  theatre.^  The  play 
must  have  satisfied  those  who  regretted  that  no 
political  piece  had  been  produced  since  Sardou's 
Rabagas  (1872).  ^  If  not  here  first  in  art  and  force, 
then,  Brieux  once  more — as  so  often — is  first  in 
having  the  courage  to  risk  a  new  dramatic  venture. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  in  this  he  has  had  followers. 
He  is  likely  to  have  more,  for  his  theme  bids  fair  to 
remain  a  burning  question  as  long  as  universal 
suffrage  exists.  ^  Even  if  the  newspapers  were 
always  whole-hearted  in  the  interests  of  political 
reform,  even  if  they  never  became  mere  commer- 
cial enterprises,  or  even  servants  of  capital,  they 
could  never  put  before  the  people  so  vividly  as  the 
drama  the  undercurrents,  the  wirepulling,  and  the 
bartering  that  are  too  common  in  French  elections. 

Are  these  evils  to  remain  common?  Is  it  true 
that  the  present  electoral  system  of  France  elimi- 
nates men  of  integrity  and  delivers  the  nation 

^  A.  Bernheim,  Grande  Rev.,  Feb.  15,  1904. 

2  J.  du  Tillet,  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  3,  1894.  To  be  sure,  Jules 
Lemaitre's  Le  Depute  Leveau  had  been  produced  in  1890,  but  that 
is  chiefly  a  satire  on  the  political  activity  of  General  Boulanger, 
who  committed  suicide  at  Brussels  in  1891. 

3  Elsewhere  Brieux  attacks  both  universal  suffrage,  which  he 
terms  "the  god  and  tyrant  of  the  magistracy"  (La  Robe  Rouge, 
i,  6),  and  its  "five  hundred  so-called  representatives  at  the  end  of 
the  Bridge  {Les  Avaries,  iii,  2),  who  have  come  to  believe  that 
their  sole  business  is  to  make  and  overthrow  ministries  "  (Les  Rem- 
plagantes,  ii,  9). 


i6o       Brieux  and  French  Society 

into  the  hands  of  the  unscrupulous?^  That  is  evi- 
dently the  opinion  of  Maurice  Spronck,  who  as- 
serts that  at  present  political  candidacy  founded 
on  conviction  is  extremely  rare.  ^  Octave  Mirbeau 
is  even  more  severe.  In  Les  21  Jours  d'un  Neiiras- 
tJieniqtie  he  says:  ''That  candidate  will  certainly 
be  elected  who  during  the  campaign  has  promised 
most,  even  though  his  party  and  his  principles 
be  diametrically  opposed  to  those  of  his  con- 
stituents." Nor  is  Mirbeau's  opinion  of  politicians 
and  politics  more  favourable.  ^  This  avowed  parti- 
san of  parliamentary  government  has  produced  in 
Le  Foyer  (1908) — a  drama  in  which  a  politician, 
implicated  in  a  scandal,  saves  himself  through 
the  amours  of  his  wife — what  one  critic  calls  the 
most  insulting  charge  ever  brought  against  French 
legislators.  ^ 

Flaubert,  unlike  Mirbeau,  preferred  ridicule  to 
violent  denunciation.  In  Le  Candidal  (1874),  he 
saw  only  the  stupidity  of  his  characters.     Their 

1  "In  France,"  writes  J.  E.  Bodley,  "if  a  politician  display 
the  essential  qualities  of  a  party-leader  and  a  capacity  to  impose 
his  will  upon  his  followers,  the  cry  of  Dictator  is  raised.  Thus, 
whatever  the  system  of  election,  the  candidature  of  those  who 
represent  the  best  elements  of  the  nation  is  not  encouraged." 
France,  ii,  176. 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  14,  1899. 

3  "Mais  allez  done,"  he  says  in  Les  Mauvais  Bergers  (1898), 
"emouvoir  cet  6tre  sans  visage  qu'on  appelle  im  politicien! 
Allez  done  tuercette  chose  qu 'on  appelle  la  politique!  .  .  .  cette 
chose  abominable,  par  quoi  tout  a  ete  avili,  tout  corrompu,  tout 
achete,  tout  vendu. " 

4  J.  Lux,  Rev.  Bleue,  Feb.  13,  1909. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  i6i 

prattle  is  too  naive  and  colourless  to  be  called 
intrigue.  The  bourgeois  ''candidate"  buys  off 
three  supposed  opponents,  whose  sole  object,  in 
reality,  is  to  obtain  the  hand  of  his  daughter. 
Blinded  by  vanity,  Rousselin  becomes  now  a 
republican,  now  a  conservative,  then  a  protection- 
ist, and  finally  a  free-trader.  ^  After  1870,  perhaps 
influenced  by  Renan,  Flaubert  conceived  a  violent 
dislike  for  "ignorant,  sentimental  democracy.'* 
And  inasmuch  as  the  great  mass  of  mankind  is 
destined  ever  to  occupy  an  inferior  intellectual 
rank,  he,  like  Renan,  desired  the  domination  of 
a  "legitimate  aristocracy"  composed  of  savants.* 

Jules  Lemaitre,  in  Le  Depute  Leveau  (1890), 
created  a  deputy  who,  though  less  stupid  than 
Flaubert's  Rousselin,  is  gloriously  duped,  never- 
theless. Himself  a  radical,  he  works  for  the  elec- 
tion of  a  marquis,  in  the  hope  that  the  marquis's 
wife  will  obtain  a  divorce  and  marry  him.  In  the 
capital  scene  (III,  2),  the  Marquise  induces  Leveau 
to  sanction  all  the  conservative  principles  she 
proposes  for  a  political  manifesto.  This  dupe 
is  a  parvenu  whom  political  ambition  leads  to 
neglect  his  wife  and  so  profoundly  affects  his  home 
life. 

Similar   features   are   prominent    in   La    Crise 

^  Flaubert's  sense  of  humour  lacks  proportion.  His  Rousselin 
has  something  in  common  with  Levrault,  Jules  Sandeau's  "  can- 
didate" in  Sacset  Parchemins  (1851). 

=•  L.  L6vy-Bruhl,  "  Flaubert  Philosophe,"  Rev.  de  Paris,  Feb. 
15. 1900. 
II 


1 62       Brieux  and  French  Society 

{The  Crisis y  1895),  a  political  comedy  by  Maurice 
Boniface.  Bemier,  a  parvenu  aspirant  for  the 
office  of  prime  minister,  demands  a  divorce  from 
his  wife  (to  whom  and  whose  dowry  he  owes 
everything),  because  she  has  a  lover,  his  intimate 
colleague.  When  the  wife  threatens  to  expose 
his  own  amours,  Bernier  decides  to  bury  the  matter 
and  accept  the  premiership.  Boniface's  satire 
varies  with  his  mood  as  he  develops  the  character 
of  his  politician.  Now  playful  humour,  now  grim 
irony,  it  next  assumes  the  form  of  contempt,  then 
reacts  toward  ridicule. 

With  humour,  ridicule,  and  contempt,  Maurice 
Barres  mingles  indignation  and  anger.  In  Une 
Journee  Parlementaire  (1894),  it  is  a  question  of 
bribery  and  the  extortion  of  hush  money.  Legisla- 
tors and  the  press  that  exposes  them  are  equally 
contemptible.  Barres's  comedy  is  a  lampoon 
rather  than  a  work  of  art,  but  it  indicates 
admirably  the  charged  state  of  the  political 
atmosphere. 

In  La  Proie  {The  Prey,  1897),  Henry  Berenger 
strikes  a  more  philosophic  note.  He  wishes  to 
condemn  positivism  in  politics,  that  is,  opportun- 
ism. This  attitude  is  entirely  consistent  with 
the  ideas  which  he  developed  in  an  earlier  work, 
V Aristocratie  Intellectuelle  (1895),  where  he  shows 
the  superiority  of  broadminded  statesmanship 
over  a  policy  of  temporary  expedients.  Rozel, 
the  hero  of  La  Proie,  illustrates  his  point  of  view. 
If   this   brilliant   young   deputy   had   looked   far 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  163 

ahead,  instead  of  striving  after  immediate  success, 
he  might  have  had  a  great  poHtical  career  and 
enjoyed  domestic  happiness.  But  he  marries  a 
woman  above  his  rank  and  so  as  a  declasse  falls  a 
"prey"  to  his  short-sighted  ambition.  Like- 
wise, as  we  infer,  it  is  owing  to  their  lack  of  lofty 
purpose  and  strong  conviction  that  many  members 
of  Parliament  favour  a  policy  of  makeshifts. 

Philosophic,  again,  and  even  more  obscure  than 
La  Prote,  is  M.  de  Vogue's  political  novel,  Les 
Morts  Qui  Parlent  {The  Dead  Who  Speak,  1899). 
The  author  asserts  that  the  more  we  repudiate 
traditions,  the_  louder  they  cry  for  vindication. 
We  think  that  we  are  treading  on  the  inert  ashes 
of  the  dead,  but  in  reality  the  dead  envelop  and 
oppress  us ;  we  are  stifled  under  their  weight ;  they 
are  in  our  bones,  in  our  blood,  in  the  grey  matter 
of  our  brain.  In  depicting  the  chief  phases  of 
parliametary  life — an  electoral  campaign,  a  debate 
in  the  Chamber,  the  overthrow  of  a  ministry,^ 
and  the  election  of  a  president  of  the  French 
Republic — this  novel  shows  several  points  of 
resemblance  with  VEngrenage.^ 

Another  work  whose  general  plot  has  much  in 
common  with  Brieux's  play  is  La  Poigne  {The 
Fist,  1902),  a  drama  by  Jean  Jullien.  The  hero 
regrets  having  left  his  provincial  town  for  political 
life.     The    central    theme,    however,    is    rather 

*  It  is  in  Chapter  XV  that  the  Panama  investigation  is 
described. 

'  CJ,  notes,  pages  147,  14S  of  this  Chapter. 


1 64       Brieux  and  French  Society 

bureaucracy  and  ministerial  tyranny — evils  which, 
Jullien  implies,  are  largely  due  to  the  present 
parliamentary  system. 

Leon  Daudet,  in  Le  Pays  des  Parlementeurs 
{The  Country  of  the  Parliamentary  V/ranglcrs, 
1901),^  denounces  this  system  much  more  vio- 
lently. He  sees  France  in  the  clutches  of  the 
Freemasons  and  the  Jews,  v/ho,  he  asserts,  wage 
implacable  war  on  the  army,  religion,  and  tradi- 
tion.^ Daudet  has  a  brilliant  imagination,  but 
the  caustic  tone  of  his  novel  destroys  its  literary 
value. 

Leurs  Figures  {Their  Faces ^  1902),  by  Maurice 
Barres,  suffers  from  the  same  defect.  ^  It  is  a 
novel  on  the  Panama  scandal,  in  which  over 
a  hundred  members  of  Parliament  were  accused 
of  accepting  bribes.  "*  Barres  does  not  mince 
matters.  His  accusations  sound  too  plausible 
to  be  dismissed  as  fiction.  Indeed  Paul  Flat  calls 
the    work    "a   bronze   tablet    with   its    political 

*  Note  the  contempt  implied  in  tHe  fonn  "  parlementeur. " 

*  Of  the  same  opinion  are  E.  Drumont,  A.  Seche,  and  H. 
Vaugeois.  Seche  declares  that  religion,  the  army,  property,  the 
family — all  the  vital  forces  of  France — are  methodically  attacked 
by  "the  enemy  of  the  interior,"  the  four  confederated  Estates: 
Jews,  Protestants,  Freemasons,  and  meteques. 

3  J.  Ernest-Charles,  after  remarking  that  there  are  two  kinds 
of  impartiality :  the  impartiality  of  the  friend  and  the  impartiality 
of  the  adversary,  observes  that  Barres's  attitude  in  this  novel 
is  of  the  latter  kind. 

4 The  title  is  explained  by  the  following  passage:  "Leurs 
figures,  qu'ils  veulent  faire  sereines,  trahissent  leurs  battements 
de  cceur"  (p.  25). 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  165 

inscription  carved  in  broad  outline  for  all 
time."^ 

Julien  Lefevre*s  Robert  Perceval  (1900)  is  much 
more  sympathetic  towards  the  idea  of  political 
equality  than  any  of  the  works  just  summarized. 
Deputy,  minister,  premier,  the  hero,  Perceval, 
everywhere  resists  political  corruption.  He  rea- 
sons with  his  electors  in  intimate  talks,  notwith- 
standing the  opinion  of  a  campaign  expert,  who 
asserts  that  an  election  is  merely  a  matter  of 
organization  and  funds.  ^  Perceval  demonstrates 
that  "democracy  is  not  ungrateful  to  those  who 
serve  it  loyally."^  In  short,  Lefevre  thinks  that 
universal  suffrage  would  be  quite  right  if  candidates 
knew  how  to  proceed.  To  my  knowledge  he  is 
the  only  recent  French  man  of  letters  who  takes 
this  view. 

Other  political  works  might  be  added,  but  those 
already  mentioned  leave  no  doubt  about  the  con- 
sensus of  literary  opinion  in  France  regarding 
parliamentary  government  and  universal  suffrage. 
Indeed  with  the  mass  of  recent  characterizations, 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Feb.  15,  1913.  Similarly  H.  Bremond,  after 
hailing  Lzurs  Figures  as  a  masterpiece,  and  denying  that  the 
work  is  in  any  sense  a  political  pamphlet,  says  that  it  would  be 
regrettable  for  posterity  to  regard  Tvlaurice  Barres  as  the  Paul- 
Louis  Courier  of  the  Third  RepubHc.  Rather  does  he  liken 
him  to  Saint-Simon.     Vingt-citiq  Annees  de  Vie  Litter.,  p.  lii. 

^  Page  80.  "The  candidate  desirous  of  succeeding,"  says 
Maurice  Spronck,  "will  take  for  granted  now  that  v/ith  a  very 
few  honourable  exceptions  the  voter's  ballot  is  for  sale," 

3  Page  99.  The  successful  candidate  in  Voidoir  (1913),  a 
comedy  by  G.  Guiches,  follows  the  persuasive  method. 


1 66       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  only  difficulty  is  Vemharras  du  choix.  One 
writer,  in  his  wrath,  would  ''sweep  out  the  par- 
liamentary vermin"  and  have  done  with  the 
''ignoble  parliamentary  deliquescence."  ^  An- 
other wonders  whether  his  compatriots  are  at  last 
beginning  to  realize  the  "dupery  of  universal 
suffrage,"^  which,  still  another  says,  "lowers  and 
levels  everything  it  touches."^  And  as  recently 
as  1 91 4  we  read  in  Andre  Lichtenberger's  novel, 
Le  Sang  Nouveau:  "Perhaps  France  is  today 
as  tired  of  a  parliamentary  republic  as  of  the 
traditional  monarchy;  as  weary  of  universal  suf- 
frage as  of  an  hereditary  aristocracy."'' 

In  a  word,  the  same  note  is  heard  generally, 
both  in  literature  and  in  the  press.  Legislators 
are  everywhere  covered  with  ridicule  and  scorn; 
everywhere  held  in  contempt  and  accused  of 
hypocrisy ;  everywhere  despised  for  their  selfishness, 
their  mediocrity,  and  their  incompetency.  ^    Emile 

^  G.  Deherme,  La  Crise  Sociale,  pp.  7,  8. 
^  A.  Capus,  Figaro,  Sept.  9,  1912. 

3  C.  Benoist,  "  Le  Pouvoir  Judiciaire  dans  la  Democratic, "  Deux 
Mondes,  Oct.  15,  1899. 

4  "For  the  first  time  in  France  since  the  Encyclopaedists  began 
to  undermine  the  Old  Monarchy,"  declares  J.  E.  Bodley, 
"no  one  has  a  substitute  to  propose  for  the  existing  regime." 

s  In  Paroles  Sinceres,  Copp6e  says: 

"Voyons:  dans  mon  quartier  qui  sera  deputd? 
"Get  avocat  v^reux?     Ge  m^decin  rat6? 
"  Quand  j'y  songe,  le  choix  me  parait  difficile; 
"L'un  est  une  canaille  et  I'autre  un  imbecile." 

Nor  does  a  French  legislator  who  chances  to  open  a  volimie 
of  Forain's  caricatures  find  a  more  flattering  portrait  of  himself. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  167 

Faguet,  in  a  convincing  arraignment  of  French 
political  life,  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  demo- 
cracy practises  the  cult  of  incompetency,  since 
the  levelling  esprit  egalitaire  is  opposed  to  talent. 
Hence  the  success  of  unworthy  politicians,  hence 
the  incompetency  of  legislators,  ministers,  magis- 
trates, and  functionaries.^  In  a  certain  sense, 
Faguet  is  here  a  disciple  of  Nietzsche,  whose 
vogue  in  France,  according  to  Edouard  Schure, 
was  due  largely  to  the  lassitude  resulting  from 
egalitarian  democracy.  "People  had  noticed,'* 
he  writes,  "how  much  it  diminishes  and  dis- 
figures man."''  Nobody  was  more  firmly  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  this  assertion  than  Renan, 
who,  after  Taine,  exercised  the  greatest  influence 
on  French  philosophic  and  literar^^  thought  from 

Forain  represents  deputies  as  "grands  phraseurs, "  "grands 
prometteurs, "  "grands  batailleurs, "  but  completely  at  the 
mercy  of  ministerial  favour  in  the  form  of  a  decoration  or  a 
tobacco  license.  (C/.  esp.  Doux  Pays,  pp.  20,  153.)  As  early 
as  1863,  the  Goncourts  spoke  of  the  "phrases  menteuses, "  the 
"mots  sonores, "  and  the  "blagues"  of  the  politicians  of  their 
time.  {Journal,  Jan.  29,  1863.  Cf.  same,  May  24,  1887.)  The 
best  example  of  the  miles  gloriosus  type  in  the  recent  drama  is 
Des  Moulinards  in  Lavedan's  Les  Deux  Noblesses. 

*  CuUe  de  V Incompetence  (1910).  P.  de  Coubertin,  a  partisan 
of  universal  suffrage,  argues,  though  not  very  convincingly, 
that  it  has  "proved  trustworthy  and  wise."  France  since  18 14^ 
p.  264. 

*  "  Nietzsche  en  France,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Sept.  8, 1900.  Nietzsche, 
after  ridiculing  the  idea  of  equality,  exclaims:  "Equahty  for  the 
equal,  inequality  for  the  unequal,  is  the  only  rational  conception 
of  true  justice."  A.  Fouillee,  "  Les  Idees  Soc.  de  Nietzsche," 
Deux  Mondes,  May  15,  1902. 


i68       Brieux  and  French  Society 

i860  to  1880.  Renan  early  declared  that  he 
would  never  recognize  the  sovereignty  of  "/a 
deraisony^-  Then  the  plebivScite  following  the 
Coup  d'Etat  of  1 85 1  and  his  own  failure  of  elec- 
tion completely  disgusted  him  with  the  "blind, 
ignorant"  masses,  whose  stupidity  long  remained 
a  target  for  his  satire.  ^  For  years  he  emphatically 
favoured  "an  hereditary  aristocracy  and  a  dynasty 
in  which  are  incarnated  the  genius  and  interests 
of  the  nation."  3  And  subsequently  he  indorsed 
universal  suffrage  half-heartedly  only  on  the 
express  condition  that  the  peuple  be  educated 
and  enlightened.  ^ 

As  for  Taine,  v/ho  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
declared  himself  incapable  of  voting,  because  he 
was  not  sufhciently  acquainted  with  France,  her 
ideas,  her  customs,  her  future, — an  eminent 
critic  says:  "Egalitarian,  levelling  democracy 
always  had  in  him  an  instinctive  enemy."  ^    Balzac 

*  Avenir  de  la  Science,  p.  342.  Ibsen,  it  will  be  remembered, 
wrote  An  Enemy  of  the  People  to  show  that  "the  majority  is 
never  right."  Herbert  Spencer  would  say  that  "majorities  are 
usually  wrong."     Cf.  Sac.  Statics,  ed.  1865,  pp.  232-234. 

^'As  late  as  1885  he  represents  two  "citizens"  whose  mania 
for  equality  goes  so  far  as  to  demand  that  "privileges"  like 
virtue  and  charity  be  taxed.     Le  Pretre  de  Nemi,  i,  6. 

3  Reforme  Intellectuelle  et  Morale,  p.  251. 

4  "The  antinomy  of  Renan 's  compact,"  declares  M.  de  Vogu^, 
"will  astonish  posterity."  {Ileures  d'HlsL,  p.  298.)  Le  Play, 
writing  in  the  last  year  of  the  Second  Empire,  exclaims:  "Mais 
qui  contr61era  le  peuple  entier  pouss^  au  desordre  et  h  la  v^nalit6 
par  Tabus  du  droit  de  suffrage?"  L' Organisation  du  Travail, 
p.  224. 

s  V.  Giraud,  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  i,  1908. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  169 

and  Flaubert  represented  essentially  this  same 
tendency. 

If,  then,  we  recall  the  conditions  described  in 
this  chapter — conditions  tending  to  create  dis- 
satisfaction and  favour  animated  discussion — 
it  is  not  surprising  that,  as  D.  Parodi  asserts, 
the  idea  of  democracy  in  general,  and  the  principle 
of  equality  in  particular,  should  be  passing  through 
a  crisis  at  the  present  time.  ^  No  other  principles, 
according  to  this  social  writer,  are  so  contested 
today  among  French  philosophers  and  men  of 
letters.^  And  the  untenable  position,  in  these 
discussions,  of  those  who  would  base  the  principle 
of  political  equality  on  the  supposed  requests 
embodied  in  the  famous  Cahiers  of  1789,  may  be 
inferred  from  the  attitude  of  Emile  Faguet  who, 
after  reading  what  he  calls  the  first  exhaustive 
work  on  the  subject,  ^  comes  to  the  emphatic 
conclusion  that  the  Cahiers  did  not  ask  for  political 
equality  at  all.^ 

Whatever  may  be  the  merits  and  disadvantages 
of  universal  suffrage  and  parliamentary  govern- 
ment, good  is  bound  to  result  from  a  vigorous 

*  Traditionalisme  ei  Democratie  (1909),  p.  309.  Raymond 
Polncare,  however,  thinks  that  universal  suffrage  is  not  in  danger. 
In  How  France  Is  Governed,  p.  139,  he  says:  "No  one  today 
would  think  of  aboHshing  it." 

*  Robert  Vallery-Radot,  a  grandson  of  Pasteur,  speaks  of  "le 
nombre  imbecile  et  triomphant"  in  his  recent  novel,  V Homme 
de  Desir. 

3  Edme  Champion,  La  France  d*apres  les  Cahiers  de  lySg. 

4  Quest,  Pol.,  p.  9. 


170       Brieux  and  French  Society 

presentation  of  their  shortcomings.^  Lectures, 
critical  articles,  and  novels  are  valuable  instru- 
ments for  arousing  public  interest;  but  a  drama 
like  VEngrenage  or  La  Vie  Puhliqiie  makes  a 
more  powerful  appeal  to  the  conscience.  And  in 
such  questions  much  depends  on  the  public 
conscience.  For  the  cause  of  reform  may  be 
gloomy  and  well-nigh  hopeless,  yet,  to  quote 
Frederic  Loliee: 

There  is  no  social  malady  which  does  not  allow  of  a 
partial  cure,  at  least.  It  is  not  useless,  it  is  neces- 
sary, on  the  contrary,  to  struggle  against  falsehood 
and  fraud  by  the  protests  of  the  writer  and  the  drama- 
tist. .  .  .  Public  opinion  must  be  kept  warned 
against  them.  If  the  results  are  not  immediately 
discernible,  literature  none  the  less  exercises  a  whole- 
some influence  by  its  firm  and  clear-sighted  satire  of 
manners.  ^ 

To  be  sure,  men  are  not  reformed  by  criti- 
cism; nevertheless,  were  it  not  for  censors  and 
critics,  they  would  probably  be  worse,  as  La 
Bruyere  used  to  say.  That  is  why  people  preach 
and  write.  ^ 

The  salutary  influence  of  the  political  play  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  a  comparatively  recent  form 
of  the  drama,   can  be  greatly  extended.     Even 

^  J.  E.  Bodley,  in  his  admirable  study,  France  (1898),  comes  to 
the  conclusion  that  "the  root  of  the  evil  is  to  be  found  not  in  its 
republican  form  .  .  .  but  in  the  parliamentary  system." 

2  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  8,  1902. 

3  E.  Faguet,  Flaubert,  p.  190. 


Politics  in  Recent  French  Literature  171 

if  the  growing  political  power  of  women  and  the 
results  of  the  European  war  change  French 
politics  immensely,  as  they  are  likely  to  do,  there 
will  still  remain  cause  for  political  plays.  ^ 

^As  early  as  1900  Emile  Faguet  foresaw  the  importance  of 
the  r61e  that  feminism  was  destined  to  play  in  French  politics. 
The  influence  of  women,  he  thinks,  will  be  conservative,  for 
morality,  and  opposed  to  alcoholic  drinks.  Cj.  liis  Prohlemes  Pol. 
du  Temps  Present  (1900)  and  "La  Fin  de  *la Fronde'"  (a  fem- 
inist journal),  Rev.  Bleue,  Sept.  19,  1903.    ,  , 


CHAPTER  VII 

CHARITY,  PHILANTHROPY,  INDUSTRIAL' 
BENEFICENCE 

Les  Bienfaiteitrs  (Brieux) — Le  Repas  du  Lion 
(Curel) — Les  Mauvais  Bergers  (Mirbeau) — Charite 
(Gleize) — La  Barricade  (Bourget) — V Imperieuse 
Bonte  (Rosny) — Les  Charitahles  (Quet). 

IN  Brieux's  next  play,  Les  Bie7ifaiteurs,  produced 
two  years  after  VEngrenage,  he  deals  with 
a  subject  no  less  characteristically  French  than 
excessive  political  activity,  but  one,  in  spite  of  its 
abuses,  pleasanter  to  contemplate — that  is,  char- 
ity, the  efforts  of  the  more  fortunate  in  society 
to  help  the  less  fortunate.  Such  efforts  of  course 
are  nothing  new;  the  generosity  and  humanity 
of  the  French  people  have  long  been  proverbial, 
though  their  Saint  Vincents  de  Paul  have  never 
been  numerous.  Under  the  Old  Regime,  the 
religious  orders  cultivated  a  wholesome  spirit  of 
mercy.  ^  But  notwithstanding  such  benevolent 
ministrations,  the  public  authorities  were  con- 
stantly preoccupied  (at  times,  indeed,  their  con- 

^  The  leaders  of  the  Reformation,  if  not  indifferent  to  charitable 
work,  stressed  the  necessit}''  of  it  much  less  than  did  the  Catholics. 

172 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  173 

cern  verged  on  terror)  by  the  threatening  aspect 
of  mendicancy  and  vagabondage,^  which  the 
severest  measures  could  not  suppress,  owing  to 
famine  and  pestilence.  Leon  Lallemand,  in  his 
Histoire  de  la  Charite,  devotes  many  pages  to  this 
phase  of  the  question.^  Although  more  than 
once  chronic  beggars  had  been  sentenced  to 
the  galleys,  ^  the  problem  was  still,  on  the  eve  of  the 
Revolution,  as  vexing  as  ever,  as  is  attested  by  the 
Cahiers  of  1789.  '*  The  dechne  of  religious  faith,  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  had  naturally  led  to  in- 
difference, or  at  least  a  flagging  of  zeal,  among 
many  charity  workers,  but  this  loss  was  com- 
pensated for  in  part  by  the  rise  of  humanitarian 
philosophy.  At  the  same  time  developed  the 
tearful  comedy  and  the  bourgeois  tragedy.  These 
influences  and  Rousseau's  theory  of  man's  innate 
bo7ite  reappear  in  the  nineteenth  century  in  the 
general  form  of  humanitarianism.  The  move- 
ment in  favour  of  social  soHdarity,  which  came  to 

^  A.  Desjardins,  Les  Cahiers  des  Etats  Gen.,  p.  137. 

^The  following  topic-headings  in  vol.  iv  speak  for  them- 
selves: Les  Peines  corporelles  appliguees  aux  meridiants  (p.  175); 
De  la  Prison  cL  la  transportation,  en  passant  par  Vesclavage  et  les 
galeres  (p.  183);  Les  Mendiants  et  vagabonds  condamnes  aux 
galeres  (p.  187);  Condamnation  d  mort  pour  fait  de  mendicite 
(p.  195) ;  Defense  de  loger  les  gens  sans  aveu  et  defaire  puUiguement 
Vaumone  (p.  207). 

3  L.  Lallemand,  ref.  quoted,  iv,  188. 

4  A.  Desjardins,  Les  Cahiers  des  Etats  Gen.,  p.  xxxviii.  As 
late  as  1764  a  decree  against  vagabonds  threatened  the  men 
with  sentence  to  the  galleys,  the  women,  with  imprisonment. 
Ibid.,  p.  142. 


174       Brieux  and  French  Society 

a  spectacular  climax  in  1848,  was  revived  with 
great  vigour  during  the  pessimism  of  the  Seventies 
and  Eighties,  thanks  to  the  charitable  doctrine 
of  positivism  and  to  Russian  influence.^ 

The  general  attitude  of  French  authors  of  the 
nineteenth  century  was  favourable  to  humani- 
tarianism.  Victor  Hugo  and  Michelet,  more  than 
any  others,  contributed  to  the  development  of 
a  sense  of  pity.  Michelet' s  vivid  descriptions  of 
the  appalling  suffering  of  past  centuries  are  equalled 
only  by  Hugo's  persuasive  exhortations  for  mercy 
in  prose  and  verse.  All  his  life  Balzac  dreamed 
vaguely  of  a  work  like  Les  Miserahles^  but  he 
was  not  able  to  crystallize  his  conception,  because 
for  such  a  creation  he  lacked  the  necessary  spirit 
of  compassion.^  More  truly  sympathetic  were 
Lamartine  and  George  Sand,  who  continued  the 
Rousseau  tradition.  And  Vigny's  stand  against 
the  cruelty  of  industrial  oppression  in  Chatterton 
shows  that,  notwithstanding  his  disdainful  reserve, 

^  It  has  been  held,  however,  that  the  Slav  doctrine  was  merely 
a  transformation  of  earlier  French  ideas.  Andre  Maurel,  com- 
menting on  the  Russian  apostle,  says:  "The  direct  source  of 
Tolstoy's  doctrine  is  France.  1848  experienced  similar  senti- 
mental excesses.  If  the  author  of  My  Religion  seems  new  to  us, 
it  is  because  we  have  forgotten  our  contemporary  intellectual 
history."  "  La  Religion  de  la  Souff ranee  Humaine,"  Rev.  Bleue^ 
July  5,  1890. 

^A.  Le  Breton,  Balzac,  p.  277.  This  is  attested  by  Balzac's 
attitude  in  such  works  as  Les  Paysans,  Le  Cure  de  Village,  and 
U Interdiction.  Le  Breton  even  charges  him  with  anathematiz- 
ing the  philanthropists  for  "compromising  the  social  order  by 
pleading  the  cause  of  the  humble."     Ibid.,  p.  132. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  175 

he  pleads  for  more  than  the  cause  of  genius.' 
The  charitable  zeal  of  a  Lamennais,  a  Lacordaire, 
a  Dupanloup,  finds  a  worthy  counterpart  in  the 
honte  of  an  Augustin  Cochin,  a  Comte,  and  a 
Littre.^  Even  the  aristocratic  Renan  himself 
felt  a  deep  and  sincere  compassion  for  the  lowly, 
though  his  refusal  to  compromise  his  high  ideals 
of  the  future  for  the  benefit  of  the  present  some- 
times made  him  seem  unsympathetic.  ^ 

There  have  always  been  a  few  to  wonder 
whether  the  humanitarianism  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  altogether  wise.  Are  charity,  bene- 
volence, philanthropy  justifiable  in  principle? 
To  most  persons  this  question  sounds  absurd. 
In  others  it  arouses  indignation  and  calls  forth 
protest,  on  account  of  the  implied  negation  of 
Christian  mercy  and  solidarity.  Nevertheless,  a 
philosophy  based  on  the  principle  of  natural 
selection  and  the  survival  of  the  fittest  is  apt  to 
answer  in  the  negative.     Darwin,  perhaps,  does  not 

^  After  Vigny's  disillusion,  his  thoughts  turned  toward  the 
humble  and  the  resigned.  M.  Paleologue,  Alfred  de  Vigny,  p. 
128. 

'"Live  for  others,"  says  M.  L^vy-Bruhl,  "is  the  supreme 
formula  of  the  positivist  moral  code."  ("  La  Alorale  Soc. 
d'Auguste  Comte,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Jan.  20,  1900.)  Renan  tells  us 
that  "Littre  n'aima  que  la  bonte.  .  .  .  II  se  plaisait  avec  le 
peuple."     Rep.  au  Disc,  de  Pasteur. 

3  In  this  respect,  Flaubert  was  a  reactionary.  As  is  evident 
from  ^Education  Sentimentale,  he  regretted  the  ascendency  of  the 
influence  of  Rousseau  over  that  of  Voltaire.  He  accused  social- 
ism and  humanitarianism  of  being  guided  by  sentiment  rather 
than  by  scientific  truth,  hence  his  satiric  stress  on  such  ideas  as 
fraternity  and  equality. 


176       Brieux  and  French  Society 

go  so  far,  at  1  east  in  practical  ethics.  But  take  Nietz- 
sche, Herbert  Spencer,  and,  we  might  almost  add, 
Ibsen.  "V/e  know,"  says  Alfred  Fouillee,  "with 
what  vehemence  Nietzsche  condemns  not  only  jus- 
tice, but  pity,  charity,  and  benevolence,  as  well." ' 
In  essentially  the  same  spirit  Spencer  writes:  "  Mea- 
sures which  prevent  the  dwindling  away  of  inferior 
individuals  or  families,  must,  in  the  course  of  genera- 
tions, cause  the  nation  at  large  to  dwindle  away."^ 
And  elsewhere:  "We  must  call  those  spurious  phil- 
anthropists, who,  to  prevent  present  misery,  would 
entail  greater  misery  upon  future  generations."  ^ 

Rarely  have  such  sentiments  been  expressed 
by  French  authors.  To  my  knowledge  no 
prominent  French  man  of  letters,  except  Zola  and 
Octave  Mirbeau,  has  condemned  charity  and 
philanthropy  in  principle,  though  numerous 
writers  in  France  are  opposed  to  them  in  their 
present  form.  Maurice  Spronck  asserts  that  char- 
ity is  so  centralized,  so  immobilized  by  bureau- 
cratic administrative  rules,  that  its  efficiency 
is  reduced  to  insignificance.  ^    Private  charity,  he 

'  "  Les  Id^es  Soc.  de  Nietzsche,"  Deux  Mondes,  May  15,  1902. 

^  Prin.  of  Ethics,  vol.  i,  p.  iii,  ch.  ix. 

3  Soc.  Statics,  ed.  1865,  p.  353.  J.-H.  Rosny  refuses  to  accept 
the  biological  objection  to  charity,  for  the  reason  that  the  weak-- 
ness  of  today  may  become  the  strength  of  tomorrow.  L'lm- 
perieuse  Bonte,  ch.  ii. 

4"Le  personnel  de  I'Assistance  publique,  qui  s'est  accrd  de 
7000  employes  nouveaux  en  dix  ans,  coljte  26  millions  de  francs, 
soit  les  deux  tiers  de  Tenorme  budget  de  la  charite  ofBcielle. 
Ainsi,  sur  100  francs  donnes  pour  les  pauvres,  il  leur  en  revient 
a  peine  35."     G.  Deherme,  La  Crise  Sociale  (1910),  p.  154. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  177 

declares,  is  so  split  up,  so  utterly  without  sys- 
tem, that  it  is  bestowed  haphazard  and  to  no 
purpose.  Consequently,  notwithstanding  the  im- 
mense funds  that  Paris  alone  expends  on 
her  unfortunates,  professional  beggars  fare  well, 
whereas  the  deserving  suffer  and  die  of  hunger, 
because  they  do  not  know  where  to  apply.  ^ 
Edouard  Fuster,  while  deploring  the  tendency 
to  exaggerate  the  so-called  dupery  of  charity, 
admits  that  "public  relief  at  present  is  inadequate, 
badly  organized,  and  sometimes  harmful."^  Paul 
Straus,  an  eminent  authority  on  the  subject, 
condemns  in  the  strongest  terms  what  he  calls 
"promiscuous  charity." ^  Zola,  finally,  in  his 
novels  L' Argent  (iSqi)"*  and  Paris  (1897),^  pro- 
claims the  "bankruptcy"  of  charity  and  the 
necessity  of  "social  justice."^  From  Zola's  stand- 
point to  the  suppression  of  charity  as  demanded 
by  Octave  Mirbeau,^  there  is  but  a  step. 

^  "L'Assistance  Publique,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Feb.  2,  1895.  ^' 
Spronck's  conclusions  are  based  in  part  on  Paris  Qui  Mendie,  a 
convincing  work  on  false  mendicants  by  Louis  Paulian,  which, 
owing  to  its  philosophical  and  literary  merit,  has  been  called  the 
most  amusing  picaresque  document  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

^Rev.  Bleue,  Feb.  23,  1895. 

^Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  17,  1894.  Cf,  the  same  journal  for  Feb. 
10, 1894. 

4  Ch.  i.  5  Ed.,  1905,  pp.  10,  108,  409,  410. 

''In  L' Argent,  Zola  says  of  Sigismond,  his  social  theorist: 
"The  idea  of  charity  .  .  .  angered  him.  .  .  .  He  admitted 
only  justice."  Rene  Bazin,  on  the  other  hand,  enimierates  a 
series  of  Catholic  initiatives  in  labour  legislation,  so  refuting  the 
charge  of  "bankruptcy."     Questions  Litter,  et.  Soc,  p.  291. 

T  Le  Foyer  (1908),  ii,  8. 
12 


178       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Suppression  in  the  name  of  social  justice  is  the 
present  slogan.  This  means  that,  were  society 
what  it  should  be,  no  labourer  would  ever  need 
charity.  It  is  this  attitude  that  gives  the  ques- 
tion its  serious,  not  to  say  threatening,  aspect  and 
explains  why  so  many  authors  have  presented 
it  in  the  form  of  an  industrial  conflict  terminating 
in  a  labour  strike.'  But  a  problem  of  such  pro- 
portions and  complexity  as  that  of  charity  requires 
something  more  than  a  vague  phrase  like  "social 
justice."  Until  an  economic  and  social  millennium 
cures  the  ills  of  mankind,  the  indigent  will  need 
aid.  For  the  present  the  question  is,  how  to 
reach  them  effectively. 

A  number  of  dramatists  and  novelists  have 
expressed  their  views  on  the  subject.  For  the 
most  part  these  writers  have  either  contented 
themselves  with  a  denunciation  of  existing  abuses 
or  have  attempted  to  show  that  a  solution  must  be 
sought  in  the  industrial  question.  Others  main- 
tain that  the  industrial  question  is  in  reality  a 
moral  and  religious  question.''  In  the  drama, 
the  theme  has  been  treated  by  Brieux,  Curel, 
Mirbeau,  Lucien  Gleize,  Bourget,  and  Henry 
Kistemaeckers.  Novels  on  the  subject  have  been 
produced  by  J.-H.   Rosny,   Edouard  Quet,  and, 

'  "  La  greve  gen^rale,  c'est  la  tarte  a  la  creme  de  tous  les  r^volu- 
tionnaires,  c'est  sur  elle  qu'ils  comptent  pour  forcer  la  bourgeoisie 
a  mettre  les  pouces  et  accepter  leur  loi."  L.  de  Seilhac,  Rev. 
Bleue,  Oct.  22,  1898. 

^  The  first  writer  to  formulate  this  idea  was  Lacordaire.  Cf. 
Comte  d'Haussonville,  Lacordaire,  4th  ed.,  p.  152. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  179 

in  a  more  general  sense  by  Zola^  and  Rene 
Bazin.^ 

Les  Bienfaiteiirs  {The  Benefactors) ,  Brieux's  four- 
act  play,  was  represented  in  1896  at  the  Porte 
Saint-Martin  Theatre.  It  shows  the  utter  failure 
of  a  woman's  attempt  at  organized  charity,  while 
her  husband  succeeds  no  better  as  a  philanthropic 
industrial  employer. 

The  first  act  takes  place  at  the  home  of  Land- 
recy,  a  factory  foreman.  Landrecy,  his  wife, 
Pauline,  and  her  cousin,  Georgette,  are  thought 
insane  by  their  neighbours,  because  they  give 
everything  to  the  poor.^  Landrecy,  having  re- 
signed his  position  as  a  protest  against  the  dis- 
missal of  a  workman  by  their  employer,  con- 
templates establishing  a  factory  on  humanitarian 
principles  if  he  can  find  the  necessar}^  capital. 
He  would  share  profits  with  his  men,  pay  each 
according  to  the  size  of  his  family,  and  develop 
their  sense  of  dignity. 

Fortune  smiles  on  the  Landrecy  projects. 
Pauline's  brother,  Valentin  Salviat,  from  whom 


^  Germinal.     Cf.  ed.  1900,  pp.  190,  320. 

2  Le  Ble  Qui  Leve  (1907).     Cf.  pp.  76,  109. 

3  Vauvenargues  says  somewhere  that  generosity  suffers  from 
the  ills  of  others  as  if  it  were  responsible.  Henry  Bordeaux, 
however,  attributes  the  charity  of  some  people  to  other  motives : 
"  La  misere  est  penible  a  regarder.  .  .  .  On  accepte  meme  d'etre 
genereux,  mais  par  intermediaire,  afin  de  n'etre  pas  incommode 
par  de  ficheux  spectacles."  According  to  La  Bruyere,  "donner, 
c'est  agir,  ce  n'est  pas  soufTrir  de  ses  bienfaits,  ni  ceder  a 
rimportunite  de  ceux  qui  nous  demandent." 


i8o       Brieux  and  French  Society 

she  has  received  no  news  for  many  years,  un- 
expectedly returns  as  the  gold  king  of  Africa. 
Although  skeptical,  Valentin,  partly  to  please 
Georgette,  with  whom  he  falls  in  love,  places  at 
Landrecy's  disposal  all  the  money  he  needs  and 
makes  it  possible  for  Pauline  to  bestow  charity 
on  a  princely  scale.  To  be  sure,  he  denies  the 
efficacy  of  organized  charity,'  recalls  from  his 
own  beggar  days  the  insolence  and  brutality  of 
the  officials  in  charge  of  public  charity,  and 
speaks  of  the  insignificant  results  obtained  by 
religious  organizations.  But  Pauline  will  aim  at 
moral  regeneration,  reclaim  convicts,  and  uplift 
the  fallen.  Indeed  she  is  already  practising  these 
principles  by  refusing  to  dismiss  Clara,  a  servant 
who  is  so  untidy  and  rude  that  she  could  not 
find  a  place  elsewhere.  Landrecy  is  equally  en- 
thusiastic: "You  will  see  whether  workmen  are 
grateful  when  one  understands  how  to  treat  them.*^ 
The  second  act  opens  a  year  later  in  a  large  hall 
fitted  out  as  a  charity-office  and  assembly-room. 
Valentin,  having  absented  himself  for  a  year  in 
the  vain  hope  of  forgetting  his  love  for  Georgette, 
who  is  engaged  to  Henri,  a  civil  engineer,  now 
returns.  In  discussing  their  industrial  experi- 
ment, Landrecy  tells  Valentin  that  while  he  has 
been  obHged  to  dismiss  certain  "black  sheep" 
and  employ  an  energetic  foreman,  his  factory  is 

^  Tocqueville  remarks  that  public  charity  gives  rise  to  abuses, 
whatever  be  the  system  employed.  VAncicn  Reg.  et  la  Rev., 
P.3S6. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  i8i 

now  well  organized.  The  workmen  receive  free 
medical  service;  they  have  a  store  that  sells  at 
cost,  a  day-nursery,  and  apprenticeship  schools. 
After  a  certain  number  of  years,  the  model  dwell- 
ings become  their  property.  The  wage-scale, 
graduated  according  to  the  size  of  the  family, 
has  not,  however,  been  a  success,  so  that  Landrecy 
now  employs  only  unmarried  men,  or  "reasonable" 
married  men. 

Compelled  to  give  up  individual  charity,  owing 
to  the  impossibility  of  personally  investigating 
the  case  of  each  mendicant,  Pauline  has  consoli- 
dated several  organizations  under  one  system. 
She  wishes  to  exhibit,  at  a  general  meeting  of  the 
various  branch-organizations  to  be  attended  by 
Valentin,  as  many  ''regenerated"  specimens  as 
possible.  The  most  noteworthy  are  Fechain,  a 
drunkard-beggar,  Clara  (Pauline's  former  maid, 
who  has  gone  wrong),  and  a  reclaimed  criminal. 
By  exploiting  the  CEuvre  des  Filles-Meres,  Clara 
lives  comfortably  without  work,  whereas  Pauline 
allows  a  widow  with  legitimate  children  only  a 
few  sous  for  honest  labour. 

The  general  meeting  is  a  spectacle  for  gods  and 
men.  During  the  reading,  of  the  report,  the 
women,  in  their  elegant  gowns,  discuss  politics, 
social  events,  and  fashion.  The  most  striking 
feature  of  the  organization  is  the  jealousy  and 
lack  of  co-operation  among  the  fashionable 
patronesses.  For  instance,  the  urgent  appeal  of 
a  mother  in  despair,  not  having  been  addressed 


i82    '  Brieux  and  French  Society 

to  the  proper  office,  has  remained  unanswered, 
so  driving  the  woman  to  infanticide  and  suicide. 
After  a  heated  discussion,  the  dainty  charity- 
workers  decide  to  bum  the  unfortunate  mother's 
letter  solemnly  in  the  fireplace  as  the  only  means 
of  easing  their  remorse.  During  the  dispute 
over  this  incident,  Valentin  Salviat  enters.  But 
he  immediately  goes  out  in  disgust. 

In  Act  III  we  are  back  at  Landrecy*s  house. 
Fechain,  almost  too  drunk  to  walk,  starts  to  sing 
his  cut-and-dried  song:  "A  father  of  five  child- 
ren ..."  etc.,  but  Valentin  makes  him  tell  the 
facts.  He  is  really  not  Fechain  at  all,  but  is  living 
with  a  w^oman,  it  appears,  whose  husband,  Fe- 
chain, is  in  prison.  By  using  the  real  Fechain' s 
legal  papers,  our  "indigent"  has  been  swindling 
Pauline's  organization.  In  order  to  teach  Pauline 
how  to  guard  against  such  swindles,  Escaudin,  an 
expert  official,  gives  a  specimen  lesson  in  the  art 
of  despatching  beggars.  The  applicants,  brought 
in  one  at  a  time,  are  intimidated  by  sharp  routine 
questions.  His  heart lessness  angers  Valentin  so 
much  that  Pauhne  is  obliged  to  ask  the  expert  to 
leave.  Indignant  at  such  contemptible  cynicism, 
Valentin  tells  his  sivSter  to  send  each  of  these  beg- 
gars a  hundred  francs,  and  to  let  herself  be  swin- 
dled a  thousand  times  by  impostors  rather  than  to 
run  the  risk  of  inflicting  such  humihation  upon  one 
single  deserving  mendicant. 

During  Landrecy's  absence,  a  deputation  of 
workmen  come  to  demand  that  he  reinstate  one 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  183 

of  their  comrades,  Lecourcheux.  Pauline  and  her 
staff,  seizing  the  opportunity  to  show  true  Chris- 
tian charity,  offer  the  men  wine.  They  think 
that  such  condescension  goes  a  long  way  toward 
solving  the  social  problem,  but  in  clinking  glasses, 
the  delicate  presidentes  keep  at  a  safe  distance, 
as  if  the  workmen  were  lepers.  One  of  the  deputa- 
tion mutters:  ''Let  them  keep  their  charity  and 
give  us  justice!" 

In  the  final  act  the  demand  of  the  deputation 
is  double:  "Lecourcheux  must  be  reinstated" 
and  "Ever}'  man  has  a  right  to  employment.'*^ 
Landrecy  accepts  the  principle  that  ever^'one  has 
a  right  to  the  kind  of  labour  he  is  capable  of 
doing,  but  Lecourcheux,  he  makes  them  admit, 
does  not  know  his  trade.  Nevertheless,  the 
strikers,  trusting  in  the  boastful  promises  of 
their  socialist  deputies,  refuse  to  listen  to  reason. 
Ever}'  time  that  Landrecy  makes  them  a  pro- 
position, they  say  that,  before  reaching  a  decision, 
they  must  discuss  the  matter  freely  by  themselves, 
ostensibly  in  order  to  preserve  the  sacred  rights 
of  labour.  But  when  given  an  opportunity  to 
"deliberate  free  from  restraint,"  they  find  that 
they  have  no  case.  Landrecy  reminds  them  of 
what  he  has  done  for  them  in  the  way  of  medical 

^  Early  in  the  February  Revolution,  Lamartine  was  prevailed 
upon  to  proclaim  "the  right  to  emploj-ment."  Scherer  declares 
that  "the  right  to  emplo^Tnent "  is  simply  the  right  of  the  poor 
to  live  at  the  expense  of  the  rich.  La  Democratie  et  la  France, 
p.  69. 


184       Brieux  and  French  Society 

attendance,  schools,  dwellings,  etc.,  but  they 
readily  find  a  motive  back  of  each  benefaction.^ 
Finally,  they  object  to  the  way  in  which  bene- 
factors proceed:  ^'When  you  give  something, 
you  give  it  with  a  pair  of  pincers."  They  think 
that  the  manner  of  giving  matters  more  than 
what  one  gives.'' 

Landrecy  and  Pauline  are  profoundly  discour- 
aged. They  realize  the  truth  of  what  Valentin 
has  said  about  the  "impenetrable  wall  between 
employer  and  workman."  ^  The  millionaire, 
while  not  questioning  his  sister^s  good  intentions, 
declares  that  her  charity  has  done  more  harm 
than  good.  Nevertheless,  he  would  gladly  sub- 
scribe another  huge  sum  to  Pauline's  fund,  if 
Georgette  would  break  her  engagement  to  Henri 
and  marry  him.  When,  however,  the  young 
woman  offers  to  make  this  sacrifice  for  charity, 
he    chivalrously    refuses    to    accept    it.     In    the 

^  These  tactics  received  their  classical  expression  in  Sardou's 
Rahagas,  where  the  Prince  tells  Eva  how  all  his  acts  are  distorted 
and  misconstrued:  I  go  walking:  Tai  Men  des  loisirs. — I  do 
not  go  walking:  Tai  peur  de  me  montrer. — I  give  a  ball:  Luxe 
effrene. — No  ball:  Quelle  avarice! — Fireworks  on  my  birthday: 
V argent  du  peuple  en  fumee! — No  fireworks:  Rieji  pour  les 
plaisirs  du  peuple. — I  am  well:    La  debauchel 

3  Of.  Le  Menteur  (i,  i): 
"Tel  donne  a  pleines  mains  qui  n'oblige  personne; 
"La  fagon  de  donner  vaut  mieux  que  ce  qu'on  donne." 

3  Tolstoy  takes  essentially  the  same  view:  "I  became  per- 
suaded that  between  us  rich  men  and  the  poor  there  stood  erected 
by  ourselves  a  barrier  of  cleanliness  and  education  which  arose 
out  of  our  wealth,  and  that,  in  order  to  be  able  to  help  them,  we 
must  first  break  down  this  barrier."     What  Is  to  Be  Done?  ch.  xiv. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  185 

final  scene,  Landrecy  discovers  that  sympathy 
avails  more  with  his  workmen  than  a  banknote. 
This  only  confirms  the  theory  of  Valentin,  the 
author's  representative,  that  ''with  alms  one  must 
give  a  handshake."^ 

Brieux  evidently  means  that  in  our  philanthropic 
attempts  to  bring  the  classes  together,  we  lack 
the  true  spirit  of  brotherhood.  His  satire  on 
fashionable  charity  shows  that 

at  the  bottom  of  these  so-called  charitable  works  there 
is  vanity,  the  love  of  appearance,  the  need  of  meeting 
and  chattering  and  giving  oneself  the  illusion  of  ac- 
complishing something;  there  isn't  an  atom  of  genuine 
charity.  So  it  happens  that  idleness  is  encouraged 
and  imposture  rewarded,  while  suffering  is  not  allevi- 
ated in  the  least.  ^ 

While  Act  II  is  the  strongest  in  its  satire,  the 
play  is  almost  uniformly  good  in  the  interspersion 
of  satirically  humorous  episodes.  These  not  only 
advance  the  action  but  combine  comic  effect 
with  didactic  purpose  in  such  a  way  that  each 
serves  appreciably  to  strengthen  the  thesis. 
One  could  scarcely  desire  more  convincing  proof 

^  "C'est  par  le  coeur  qu'on  touche  le  proldtaire,  dont  le  g^nie, 
annihile  aujourd'hui,  dmane  du  coeur.  Les  bourgeois  ne  savent 
qu'etaler  leur  s^cheresse,  leur  morgue  ^et  leur  feroce  ^goisme." 
G.  Deherme. 

^R.  Doumic,  Deux  Mondes,  Jan.  15,  1899.  Balzac,  satirizing 
the  vanity  of  charity,  says :  "La  mode  ^tait  alors  chez  les  femmes 
k  une  effronterie  de  bonnes  actions  qui  passait  toutes  bomes." 
Lc  Depute  d  'A  rets.  , 


1 86       Brieux  and  French  Society 

of  the  harmful  effects  of  organized  charity  than 
the  swindle  practised  by  a  drunkard  like  Fechain 
or  the  ruses  of  Clara,  while  the  deserving  poor  are 
driven  to  despair  by  neglect. ' 

Three  episodes  deserve  special  mention  for  their 
originality  and  clever  execution.     The  first  (Act 

II)  is  the  burning  of  the  fatal  letter  at  the  general 
meeting,  in  order  to  obliterate  all  evidence  of 
guilt  on  the  part  of  the  patronesses  in  ignoring  the 
distressed  mother*s  appeal.  ^  The  second  is  Escau- 
din*s  specimen  lesson  in  the  despatch  of  mendicants 
(Act  III).  This  equals  in  excellence  Moliere*s 
famous  tailor  scene  between  Don  Juan  and  M. 
Dimanche.  Finally,  the  dainty  patronesses 
clinking   their   glasses   with   the   workmen    (Act 

III)  forms  a  scene  of  rare  conception  and  execu- 
tion. It  is  such  features  that  stamp  a  literary 
work  with  individuality.  Less  original,  but  even 
superior  in  execution,  is  the  deliberation  "free 
from  intimidating  restraint"  in  the  last  act. 
Nothing  could  be  more  lifelike.  Nothing  could 
show  better  the  illusions,  shortsightedness,  and 
prejudices  of  strikers.  Brieux*s  conception  of  the 
working  class,  as  he  shows  again  in  Resultat  des 
Courses,  bears  evidence  of  a  psychological  penetra- 
tion not  possessed  by  any  other  dramatist  of  our 
time. 

^In  La  Petite  Amie  (iil,  i),  Brieux  represents  charity  as 
the  dupe  of  a  vagabond. 

» Similarly,  in  Le  Foyer  (Mirbeau)  and  Les  Cliaritahles  (Quet) 
the  "benefactors"  dread  scandal. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  187 

Balancing  these  excellences  there  are,  unfortu- 
nately, two  conspicuous  faults:  the  superficiality 
of  the  characters  and  the  insipid  love  intrigue. 
The  latter  has  no  purpose  except  to  explain 
Valentines  interest  in  the  charitable  experiments 
of  his  sister  and  brother-in-law.  Georgette's 
fiance  disappears  early  in  the  first  act,  and  she 
herself  appears  only  just  often  enough  not  to 
be  forgotten.  Valentin's  love  for  her  and  his 
withdrawal  in  favour  of  Henri  do  not  add  the 
slightest  interest  to  the  play.  He  is  one  of  those 
characters  who  are  always  exceptional.^  It  may 
be  said,  indeed,  that  all  the  chief  characters  lack 
depth  and  consistency.  We  have  no  conception 
of  Landrecy.  Nor  do  we  understand  Pauline 
much  better.  Fechain,  Clara,  Escaudin,  and  the 
deputation  of  workmen  are  excellent,  but  they 
play  only  minor  roles. 

Dramatically,  at  least,  Brieux  makes  both  of 
his  points:  organized  charity,  as  he  describes  it, 
deserves  condemnation;  and  a  patronizing  in- 
dustrial employer  may  expect  only  ingratitude 
from  his  employes,  unless  he  shows  them  personal 
sympathy.^    These  points  are  enough  to  justify 

^  Of.  Samson  (Bernstein)  and  UAventurier  (Capus). 

'Brieux's  idea  seems  to  be  what  Leopold  Lacour  calls  "un 
vague  socialisme  patronal."  Edmond  Stoullig  seems  to  imply- 
that  Brieux  considers  all  charity  useless  and  dangerous  {Annales, 
1908,  p.  no).  But  Landrecy  would  have  succeeded  if  his  men 
had  understood  his  intentions.  Hence  the  moral :  The  impenetra- 
ble barrier  between  capital  and  labour  must  first  be  demolished. 
Cf.  Tolstoy,  What  Is  to  Be  Done?  chs.  vii,  xiv. 


i88       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  play;  it  would  be  too  much  to  expect  the 
dramatist  to  solve  the  whole  problem  of  charity. 
His  business  is,  in  a  social  pla}^,  to  develop  situa- 
tions so  as  to  make  reprehensible  abuses  stand 
out  prominently  and,  if  he  pleases,  to  suggest  a 
solution,  or  at  least  a  step  in  the  right  direction.^ 
This  Brieux  has  done  by  showing  the  efHcacy  of 
sympathy  and  kindness  on  the  part  of  Landrecy 
after  condemning  Escaudin*s  revolting  heartless- 
ness.  But  the  piece  is  more  successful  as  a  satire 
than  in  point  of  thesis.  The  author  would  have 
done  better  merely  to  content  himself  with  a 
denunciation  of  fashionable  charity  and  the 
routine  and  insolence  of  those  in  charge  of  public 
charity.  *  His  satire  is  complete  and  to  the  point. 
Le  Repas  du  Lion  {The  Lion^s  Feast),  a  drama 
by  Frangois  de  Curel  a  year  later  than  Les  Bien- 

^  In  this  connection,  Doumic  says:  "It  is  not  so  much  a 
matter  of  settling  such  questions.  It  is  important  rather  to 
draw  to  them  the  attention  of  thoughtful  men,  and  to  interest 
their  imagination  and  sympathy  as  well  as  their  intelligence. 
The  real  point  is  to  put  ideas  into  circulation."  Deux  Mondes, 
Aug.  15,  1904. 

'This  does  not  satisfy  Augustin  Filon,  who  thinks  that  a 
drama  requires  definite  conclusions,  "a  frank  adherence  to  one 
side  or  the  other,"  and  not  merely  a  pliilosophic  "suspension  of 
judgment."  (De  Dumas  d,  Rostand,  p.  192.)  A  dramatist 
would  be  a  supernatural  being  if  he  could  solve  the  problems 
involved  in  Les  Bienfaiteurs.  Unfortunately  Brieux's  conception 
is  obscured  by  his  allusions  to  Tolstoy.  Since  the  Landrecys 
are  ardent  admirers  of  the  Russian  apostle,  whose  honte  is  pro- 
verbial, we  should  expect  their  efforts  to  have  succeeded  on  that 
score;  and  yet  our  dramatist  concludes  that  they  have  the  wrong 
conception  of  la  honte. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence   189 

faiteurs,  is  in  a  more  serious  vein.  But  here,  as 
elsewhere,  Curel  is  obscure  and  fails  to  reach  a 
definite  conclusion — ^perhaps  in  this  case,  to  be 
sure,  because  of  the  difficulty  of  his  theme, 
industrial  socialism.^ 

The  Count  de  Sancy,  a  half-ruined  country 
nobleman,  is  the  business  associate  of  Boussard, 
an  industrial  employer,  whose  son  has  married 
the  Count's  daughter.  Having  discovered  coal 
under  Sancy's  land,  Boussard  turns  the  forest  of 
venerable  trees  into  an  industrial  city.  This 
vandalism  grieves  young  Jean  de  Sancy,  an  ardent 
lover  of  the  forest  and  the  chase.  In  a  fit  of 
youthful  rage,  he  floods  the  mines  at  a  time  when 
he  thinks  that  all  the  miners  are  out.  One  of 
them,  however,  having  remained  below,  is  drowned. 
Jean,  in  his  remorse,  vows  that  he  will  consecrate 
his  life  to  the  cause  of  labour.  He  becomes  the 
favourite  orator  of  the  Catholic  labour  organiza- 
tions, but  only  to  desert  their  cause,  eventually,  in 
favour  of  Boussard's  industrial  egotism.  En- 
raged over  Jean's  treason,  Boussard's  workmen 
strike,  and  in  the  conflict  that  follows,  their 
former  idol  falls  mortally  wounded. 

According  to  the  theory  of  Boussard,  who 
represents  the  author,  an  employer  is  like  a  power- 
ful lion  which,  after  satisfying  his  appetite,  leaves 
the  remnants  of  his  royal  feast  to  the  jackals. 

'  E.  Stoullig  declares  that  it  is  a  formidable  undertaking 
to  bring  the  social  question  upon  the  stage.  Annates,  1897, 
p.  281. 


190       Brieux  and  French  Society 

They,  helpless  without  their  benefactor,  have 
nothing  to  gain  by  his  destruction.  The ''lion'* 
declares  that  there  is  only  one  class  of  helpful 
beings,  namely,  those  who  open  up  new  channels 
of  human  activity;  that  the  immense  majority  of 
men  depend  on  the  brains  and  initiative  of  a  few.  ^ 
His  aristocratic  conception  of  industrial  bene- 
ficence favours  the  creation  of  great  bodies  of 
workmen  analogous  to  the  old  corporations.  He 
would  invest  employers  with  a  sort  of  paternal 
authority  deserving  of  filial  gratitude.  But  Le 
Repas  du  Lion  is  inconclusive,  since  the  "jackals'* 
refuse  to  content  themselves  with  the  ''lion's'* 
leavings. 

Octave  Mirbeau,  in  his  drama,  Les  Mauvais 
Bergers  {The  Bad  Shepherds),  of  the  same  year, 
1897,  takes  quite  the  opposite  point  of  view. 
He  endeavours  to  contrast  the  selfishness  and 
harshness  of  bourgeois  employers  with  the  poverty 
and  suffering  of  their  employes,  and  to  show  that 
no  reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  the  promises  of 
socialist  deputies,  the  "bad  shepherds."^ 

Mirbeau  presents  supposedly  specimen  scenes 
of  revolting  misery  and  gives  us  to  understand 
that  frequently  labourers  succumb  to  the  in- 
human tasks  of   factory  work   before  the  age  of 

^  One  of  Marcel  Prevost's  benefactors,  who  has  got  his  start 
by  forging  checks,  advances  a  similar  argument:  "Aujourd'hui 
des  centaines  de  gens  vivent  par  moi,  travaillent  par  moi.  J'ai 
cre6  des  usines,  des  cit^s  ouvrieres,  des  creches,  d^s  h6pitaux." 
Pierre  et  Therese,  iii,  9. 

'  Cf.  R.  Bazin,  Le  BIS  Qui  Leve,  p.  268. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence   191 

twenty.  He  makes  gruesome  allusions  to  the 
cemetery  dotted  with  the  graves  of  the  pro- 
prietor's victims,^  forming  a  vivid  contrast  with 
the  luxurious  residence  of  the  factory-owner, 
Hargand.  Yet  Hargand  is  not  happy,  for  his 
son,  Robert,  condemns  his  principles  and  carries 
on  a  socialist  propaganda.^  His  efforts  to  better 
the  conditions  of  his  workmen  fail,  because  he  has 
proceeded  without  due  regard  for  their  sensitive- 
ness and  short-sightedness.  3  The  promises  of 
deputies  whom  the  men  have  trusted  avail  them 
nothing.  They  strike  and  in  a  clash  with  the 
troops,  Robert  Hargand  falls  at  the  head  of  the 
strikers. "»  The  grief-stricken  father,  touched  by 
the  heart-rending  spectacle  of  mourning  widows 
and  mothers,  offers  to  adopt  them  all. 

Are  we  to  infer  from  this  that,  instead  of 
attempting  to  provide  institutions  of  material 
comfort   and  moral  uplift  for  his  workmen,   an 

^  Boussard  denies  the  employer's  responsibility:  "Une  loi 
que  nous  n'avons  pas  faite  oblige  les  hommes  h  travailler.  II  faut 
du  fer,  il  faut  de  la  houille  qu'on  n'arrache  pas  k  la  terre  qu'au 
prix  d'efforts  meurtriers."     Le  Repas  du  Lion,  iii,  i. 

» There  are  similar  situations  in  Bourget's  La  Barricade  and 
Le  Trihun. 

3  The  good  intentions  of  the  philanthropist  in  La  Clairiere 
(Donnay  and  Descaves)  meet  with  ingratitude.  In  the  final 
scene,  a  member  of  the  "colony"  smashes  the  benefactor's  bust 
with  his  cane. 

4  Hargand  receives  a  deputation  of  strikers,  but  drives  them 
from  his  presence  on  hearing  their  demands.  In  Lavedan's  Les 
Deux  NoblesseSj  the  strikers  demand  "pleine  satisfaction  des 
besoins  et  des  jouissances  pour  tous,  expropriation  universelle, 
juste  repartition  des  richesses  communes,  libre  choix  du  labeur.** 


192       Brieux  and  French  Society 

employer  should  merely  pay  them  just  wages  and 
let  them  look  out  for  themselves?  Here,  as  in 
Les  Bienjaiteurs  and  Le  Repas  du  Lion^  we  see 
the  same  barrier  between  labour  and  capital. 
Mirbeau,  too,  like  Brieux,  cries  ^out  against  the 
stupidity  of  depending  on  the  promises  of  "bad 
shepherds." 

Lucien  Gleize's  Charite  (1897)  in  some  respects 
resembles  Les  Mauvais  Bergers.  A  labourer, 
Guichard,  is  hurt  in  doing  his  difficult  factory 
work.  His  employer  offers  an  indemnity,  which 
Guichard  is  about  to  accept,  in  order  to  safeguard 
his  wife  and  children,  when  the  head  of  the  work- 
men's syndicate  interferes,  declaring  the  indemnity 
insufficient.  During  the  conflict  that  follows, 
Guichard,  failing  to  obtain  anything,  resorts  to 
assassination  in  revenge.  A  charitable  duchess 
adopts  his  children,  the  syndicate  provides  for 
his  wife,  and  the  press  starts  a  movement  to  obtain 
his  acquittal. 

Here  we  see  various  conceptions  of  "charity."^ 
A  curate  makes  a  spiritual  revival  in  the  Guichard 
family  a  condition  of  his  financial  assistance. 
The  manufacturer,  by  voluntarily  offering  an 
indemnity,  practices  charity  as  he  understands 
it.  The  syndicate  leader  has  charitable  inten- 
tions, which,  however,  fail.  Finally,  the  Duchess, 
in  adopting  Guichard' s  children,  shows  true 
benevolence.       The     author     sympathizes     with 

^  In  Le  Veau  d'Or  (1913),  Gleize  satirizes  a  parvenu  philan- 
thropist. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  193 

the  labourer,  but  criticises  bis  method  of  pro- 
cedure. 

Paul  Bourget  sees  the  industrial  conflict  in  a 
different  light.  It  is  as  natural  for  him  to  sym- 
pathize with  the  employer  as  for  Mirbeau  to 
array  himself  on  the  side  of  the  striker.  We  are 
told  that  in  La  Barricade  {The  Barricade,  19 10) 
Bourget  has  confined  himself  to  the  facts  of 
reality.  This  makes  his  drama  a  play  with  a 
purpose  rather  than  a  thesis  play. 

Breschard,  a  manufacturer  of  artistic  furniture, 
occupies  in  Paris  what  was  once  the  residence  of  a 
duke.  A  part  of  his  employes,  under  the  secret 
leadership  of  the  foreman,  Langouet,  think  it 
time  to  down  the  bourgeois  "usurpers  of  1789,'* 
either  by  a  strike  or  a  revolution.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  "barricade"  are  a  few  loyal  workmen 
and  Louise,  the  overseer  of  the  women.  Bre- 
schard's  son,  inclined  to  socialism,  at  first  refuses 
to  believe  the  reports  about  the  foreman,  for  he 
has  always  treated  Langouet  as  a  comrade.  But 
Langouet  forces  the  issue,  in  spite  of  Breschard's 
appeal  to  the  strikers'  sense  of  reason,  and  Louise 
deserts  to  his  side.  In  the  end  the  strike-breakers 
win  and  events  show  the  stupidity  and  malice  of 
Breschard's  ungrateful  workmen.  Completely 
disillusioned,  young  Breschard  disavows  socialism 
and  becomes  his  father's  associate.  Langouet,  hu- 
miliated, takes  to  drinking,  but  Breschard's  loyal 
workmen  obtain  for  him  a  position  in  a  new  co-oper- 
ative establishment  financed  by  Breschard  himself. 
13 


194       Brieux  and  French  Society 

A  comparison  of  La  Barricade  with  Les  Mauvais 
Bergers  and  Charite  makes  it  clear  that  in  the 
treatment  of  such  social  problems  much  depends 
on  which  side  enjoys  the  dramatist's  sympathy. 
This,  of  course,  must  not  lead  him  to  discriminating 
partisanship.  Thanks  to  his  broad-minded  views, 
Bourget  has  avoided  making  this  mistake.  Yet 
he  succeeds  in  justifying  his  standpoint,  though 
naturally  enough  he  does  not  solve  the  industrial 
question. 

The  two  recent  novels  that  treat  of  philanthrop- 
ical  questions  dispense  with  the  labour  strike ;  but 
in  each  we  find  one  class  of  the  poor  ready  to  revolt 
against  society.  J.-H.  Rosny,  though  feeling  deep 
compassion  for  these  poor,  does  not  hold  society 
responsible  for  their  sufferings.  He  seems  to 
regard  wealth  as  a  greater  misfortune  than  pov- 
erty. Edouard  Quet,  on  the  other  hand,  lays  the 
blame  squarely  upon  the  present  social  order  and 
the  wealthy,  whom,  as  he  implies,  it  favours  at 
the  expense  of  the  poor. 

Rosny 's  conception  of  the  legitimate  dignity 
of  charitable  work  and  workers  is  developed  in 
V Imperieuse  Bonte  {Self -Willed  Ki?idliness,  1894).^ 
The  central  character  is  Dargelle,  a  harsh  but 
generous  millionaire  who  purposes  to  let  himself 

^  Rosny  rejects  the  Russian  apostle's  doctrine  of  humility 
and  renunciation,  declaring  that  pride  and  genius  can  develop 
their  activity  as  profitably  in  altruism  as  in  science  or  art.  His 
types  are  aggressive  persons  conscious  of  their  dignity,  at  times 
even  haughty. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  195 

be  swindled  as  little  as  possible  by  the  pseudo- 
poor.  His  capable  secretary,  Fougeraye,  investi- 
gates each  case  personally,  but  always  refrains 
from  humiliating  the  mendicant.  He  finds  many 
deserving  poor,  a  few  fraudulent  beggars,  and 
others  who  demand  assistance  in  the  name  of 
social  justice.  After  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  work,  Fougeraye  (the  author's  spokes- 
man) makes  a  report,  the  fundamental  idea  of 
which  is:  "It  suffices  that  la  honte  should  of 
itself  be  worthy  of  our  efforts;  that  it  aggrandize 
and  develop  those  who  cultivate  it,  making  them 
more  capable  of  understanding  life  and  happiness. 
Altruism  will  thus  solve  the  question  of  future 
punishment  and  reward."^  This  liberal  but 
somewhat  obscure  conception  of  altruism  lays 
aside  all  absolute  moral  codes.  It  aims  at  an 
experimental  form  of  charity  free  from  brutality 
and  ever  seeking  to  adapt  itself  to  the  conditions 
of  wretchedness.  Rosny  tells  us  further  that  this 
**  self- willed"  honte  must  not  engage  in  political, 
religious,  or  even  moral,  propaganda.^  He 
acknowledges  the  merit  of  public  charity,  but 
thinks  it  insufficient.  Seriously  as  it  is  intended, 
V Imperieiise  Bonte,  owing  to  mysticism  and 
improbable  plot,  unfortunately  lacks  reahty.^ 

^  Ulmperieuse  Bonte,  p.  340. 

'  One  of  Rosny's  types  represents  positivism ;  another  Is  a 
devout  Catholic.  Fougeraye  is  a  mystic,  while  Dargelle  might 
be  called  a  mystic  fatalist. 

3  In  Sous  le  Fardeau,  his  masterpiece,  which  appeared  twelve 
years  later,  Rosny  concludes  that  we  must  practise  charity. 


196       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Edouard  Qiiet^s  novel,  Les  CharitaUes  (1908), 
is  both  a  caustic,  but  fairly  just,  satire  on  favshion- 
able  charity  and  a  condemnation  of  philanthropy 
in  general.  His  heroine,  Mme.  d'Arlanc,  whose 
father  has  amassed  considerable  wealth  by  specu- 
lation, takes  up  charitable  work  as  a  means  of 
rising  above  the  ordinary,  frivolous  rich.  She 
sincerely  believes  that  she  is  one  of  the  chosen 
few,  notwithstanding  the  remark  of  her  cousin, 
Meru,  the  author's  "  reasoner, '*  |that  she  will  be 
a  professional  benefactor  but  never  a  "femme 
de  bien."^  Nevertheless  she  works  conscien- 
tiously with  her  secretary,  Vivanti,  organizing, 
investigating,  and  classifying,  even  to  the  neglect 
of  her  home.  She  is  sometimes  exposed  to  violent 
attacks  on  the  part  of  the  dignified  poor,  who 
ask  only  to  live  and  let  live,  instead  of  being  driven 
to  despair  by  the  competition  of  poor-house 
labour.^  No  wonder  she  exclaims:  "A  charity 
worker  must  have  courao:e."^    Her  task  is  made 


but  not  to  the  extent  of  self-sacrifice.  The  strong  must  not, 
for  the  benefit  of  inferior  creatures,  assume  burdens  which 
might  weaken  them  and  destroy  their  usefuhiess. 

^  At  one  place  she  says:  "  Je  ne  reclame  aucune  reconnaissance 
^mes  obliges." 

=  Lucien  Descaves  seems  to  conclude  in  La  Cage  (1898)  that 
for  the  poor  there  exist  but  two  courses:  revolution  or  suicide. 

3  In  Le  Medecin  de  Campagne,  Balzac  says:  "Le  bien  obscur^- 
ment  fait  ne  tente  personne."  Maxime  Du  Camp  admits  frankly 
that  "abstract  virtue"  is  rare,  and  that  people  Hke  to  receive 
some  tangible  reward  for  their  good  deeds.  La  Charite  privie 
d  Paris,  p.  2. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  197 

the  more  difficult  by  the  mutual  jealousy  of  the 
"workers."  Thus  discord  and  jealousy  threaten 
Mme.  d'Arlanc's  supreme  ambition,  to  obtain  the 
cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honour.^  Eventually 
she  reaches  the  coveted  goal,  but  at  the  cost  of 
twofold  disaster.  Her  "trusted'*  Vivanti  ab- 
sconds, after  long  systematic  falsification  of 
accounts;  and  her  daughter,  who  has  gone  wrong 
for  lack  of  maternal  guidance,  blames  her  in 
bitter  words:  "Your  paupers,  mother,  have  been 
sacrificed  for  a  woman  [Vivanti' s  mistress],  and  I 
have  been  sacrificed  for  your  orphans."  At  the 
end,  the  sensible  cousin  sums  up  his  conception  of 
charity  thus:  "Some  fortunes  are  covered  with 
a  veil,  which  it  is  prudent  not  to  remove.  Isn't 
beneficence  their  ransom?"^ 

From  the  analysis  of  the  attitude  of  the  recent 
French  drama  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  of  the  novel, 

'  Georges  Lecomte  and  Alfred  Capus  excel  in  satire  on  fashion- 
able charity.  Cf.  Lecomte's  article,  "Bienfaisance  et  Charite," 
Rev.  Bleue,  Nov.  12,  1904. 

^  Varying  phases  of  our  theme  have  been  treated  in  numerous 
other  works.  Jules  Lemattre  shows  the  failure  of  charity  as  a 
mere  caprice  {Mariage  Blanc).  Andre  Picard  develops  the 
psychological  evolution  of  a  philanthropic  soul  {La  Confidente)  ^ 
In  Les  Mouettes  Paul  Adam  represents  a  wife  willing  to  sacrifice 
her  happiness  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  The  humorous  side  of 
charity  is  emphasized  by  Alfred  Capus  {Les  Passageres);  also  by 
Gustave  Guiches  {Vouloir).  Edouard  Rod  believes  that  kindli- 
ness and  self-sacrifice  are  the  true  sources  of  happiness  {Le 
Double).  Paul  Bourget  stigmatizes  ostentatious  beneficence 
(U Emigre,  iii).  Paul  Margueritte  censures  narrow-minded 
benefactors  {La  Tourmente,  ch.  iv),  and  commends  true  charity 
{Nous,  les  Meres,  pt.  ii,  ch.  iv). 


198       Brieux  and  French  Society 

towards  the  question  of  charity,  it  is  evident  that, 
if  confined  strictly  to  facts,  our  conclusion  can 
indicate  only  general  tendencies.  Any  rational 
grouping  of  authors  must  be  based  on  the  broad 
social  and  industrial  aspects  of  the  question;  for 
sociologists  and  political  economists  are  more 
and  more  inclined  to  regard  charity  as  a  question 
of  social  solidarity.  From  this  standpoint,  the 
relative  merit  of  employer  and  employe  becomes 
the  most  important  factor,  and  an  author  who 
represents  an  industrial  conflict  can  usually  be 
classified  according  to  the  side  of  the  "barricade'* 
he  defends.  On  this  basis,  our  authors,  all  of 
whom  have  made  more  or  less  use  of  industrial 
conflict,  may  be  divided  into  three  groups : 
partisans  of  the  employer,  who  believe  that  social 
reforms  can  be  effected  best  by  the  "charity"  of 
the  well-to-do;  partisans  of  the  employe,  who 
demand  "social  justice,"  which  shall  make 
"charity"  unnecessary;  and  those  whose  attitude 
depends  on  circumstances,  since  they  believe 
that  neither  right  nor  wrong  is  wholly  with  either 
side.  To  the  first  group  belong  Cur  el,  Bourget, 
Lemaitre,  Lavedan,  Bazin,  and  Rosny;  to  the 
second,  Mirbeau,  Descaves,  and  Edouard  Quet. 
Brieux  and  Lucien  Gleize  may  be  classed  as 
irregulars.  Brieux,  as  we  have  seen,  believes  that 
industrial  philanthropy  would  prove  a  success  if 
undertaken  in  the  proper  spirit.  At  least  in  the 
dispute  between  Landrecy  and  his  employes, 
while  showing  that  both  sides  are  at  fault,  he 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence   199 

sympathizes  most  with  the  employer.  Gleize, 
on  the  contrary,  undoubtedly  favours  his  labourer's 
cause,  but  deplores  the  folly  of  his  actions.  Where- 
as Gleize* s  social  tendency  as  manifested  in  one  of 
his  recent  dramas^  would  justify  classing  him 
with  Mirbeau,  Brieux  has  become  more  con- 
servative since  1896. 

V/hatever  be  the  doctrinal  differences  of  these 
authors,  however  seriously  their  views  may  con- 
flict, they  all  realize  the  non-material  difficulties 
involved  in  a  solution  of  the  charity  problem. 
The  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  works  we 
have  examined  is  the  implied  importance  of  tact, 
discretion,  and  good  sense  in  charity  work.^ 
Lack  of  these  qualities  constitutes  the  great 
obstacle  to  good  understanding  between  the 
various  classes  of  society;  it  is  largely  this  ob- 
stacle that  Tolstoy,  like  Brieux,  referred  to  as 
the  barrier  separating  the  classes.  By  ''barrier*' 
they  mean  very  nearly  what  we  often  hear  of  as 
the  conflict  between  labour  and  capital.  To  a  cer- 
tain extent  the  terms  do  mean  one  and  the  same 
thing.  The  conflict  can  never  be  decided  without 
first  tearing  down  the  barrier. 

This  necessity  was  fully  realized,  in  literature, 

^  Le  Veau  d'Or. 

^  H.  Kistemaeckers's  hero  in  Le  Marcliand  de  Bonheur  (1910), 
on  discovering  the  harm  that  his  philanthropy  has  done,  exclaims: 
"I  am  a  criminal!  He  who  would  make  others  happy  must  use 
the  greatest  discretion."  Bernard  Shaw  declares  that  an  im- 
moderately good  man  is  very  much  more  dangerous  than  an 
immoderately  bad  man. 


200       Brieux  and  French  Society 

by  the  Russian  and  the  English  novelists  who 
sincerely  loved  the  humble.^  It  is  scarcely  an 
exaggeration  to  say  that  the  works  of  Dostoevski 
and  of  Tolstoy,  of  Dickens  and  George  Eliot, 
contributed  more  towards  removing  the  social 
barrier  than  did  the  legislation  of  their  time.  In 
France  we  have  seen  the  influence  of  such  authors 
as  Michelet  and  Hugo.  But  French  naturalism, 
unfortunately,  did  not  take  a  sympathetic  interest 
in  the  poor.  Hence  the  class-levelling  influence 
of  a  Flaubert,  a  Goncourt,  or  a  Zola  was  practically 
nil. 

Renan  early  formed  a  truly  admirable  conception 
of  the  results  to  be  sought  in  a  solution  of  the 
social-industrial  question;  but  owing  to  his  aris- 
tocratic principles,  he  naturally  hoped  to  attain 
these  results  by  other  means  than  those  since 
advocated  by  Brieux.  In  VAvenir  de  la  Science, 
he  says^: 

The  aim  of  society  is  the  greatest  possible  perfec- 
tion of  all.  Material  comfort  has  value  only  in  so 
far  as  it  is  to  a  certain  extent  the  indispensable 
condition  of  intellectual  perfection. 

And  again  2: 

The  remedy  for  the  social  evil  is  not  to  enable 
the  poor  to  become  rich,  or  to  awaken  in  them  this 

'According  to  Renan,  "la  vraie  grandeur,  c'est  d'etre  vu 
grand  par  I'oeil  des  humbles." 

"  Page  378.  3  Ihid.,  p.  417. 


Charity  and  Industrial  Beneficence  201 

desire,  but  to  make  wealth  a  matter  of  secondary 
consideration,  so  that  without  it  one  may  be  happy, 
noble,  and  influential. 

Renan's  ideals  leave  nothing  to  be  desired. 
The  only  question  in  the  minds  of  our  dramatists 
and  novelists  is,  how  to  realize  these  lofty  ideals. 
On  this  all-important  point,  their  views  doubtless 
differ  widely  from  those  of  Renan,  who  expected 
the  reign  of  science  and  truth  to  effect  the  moral 
regeneration  of  men.  ^  But  if  all  are  agreed  upon  the 
goal  and  are  conscious  of  the  difficulties  involved 
in  reaching  it,  substantial  progress  has  already 
been  made.  Charity- workers,  the  promoters  of 
industrial  beneficence,  and  the  champions  of 
**  social  justice'*  will  probably  find  that  their 
differences  are  not  irreconciliable,  if  once  they 
understand  that  all  are  striving  for  the  same  end. 

^  In  Le  Pritre  de  Nemi,  Renan  says:  "We  follow  the  Good 
without  being  sure  that  we  are  not  being  deceived  in  doing  so; 
and  yet,  even  if  we  knew  of  a  certainty  that  we  were  deceived, 
we  should  follow  it  all  the  same." 


CHAPTER  VIII 


LITERATURE  AND  SCIENCE 


V  Evasion  (Brieux)  —  Le  Docteur  Pascal 
(Zola) — V Obstacle  (A.  Daudet) — Yvette  (Maupas- 
sant)— Margot  (Meilhac) — Le  Delour  (Bernstein) 
— La  Nouvelle  Idole  (Curel) — Les  Morticoles  (L. 
Daudet) — Le  Mai  Necessaire  (Couvreur). 

TEN  years  ago  [says  Rene  Doumic,  writing  in  1894], 
people  were  positivists  and  realists.  They  boast- 
ed that  mystery  had  been  exorcised.  ^  A  new  determin- 
ism was  in  vogue.  .  .  .  But  the  period  of  scientific 
infatuation  having  passed,  some  persons  now  affect 
a  contempt  for  science  which  is  as  regrettable  as  the 
excessive  favour  it  recently  enjoyed.^ 

Or,  as  Alfred  Fouillee  writes:  "After  passing 
through  a  period  in  which  .  .  .  the  intelligence 
was  in  revolt  against  the  heart,  we  enter  another 
period,  in  which  the  heart  is  in  revolt  against  the 
intelligence."^  In  other  words,  humanity,  ac- 
cording to  Emile  Boutroux,  seems  to  go  forward 
after  the  fashion  of  a  drunken  man — now  escaping 

^  Adrien  Sixte  declares:  "II  n'y  a  pas  de  mystere,  il  n'y  a 
que  des  ignorances."     Le  Disciple,  p.  329. 

^  "Littdrature  et  Deg6n6rescence,"  Deux  Mondes,  Jan.  15. 
3  Le  Mouvement  Idealiste  (1896),  p.  v. 

202 


Literature  and  Science  203 

a  fall  to  the  right  by  staggering  far  to  the  left, 
now  staggering  just  as  far  to  the  right,  and  so  on 
indefinitely.^  Thus  we  meet  again  the  general 
law  of  change  and  contrast  which  Bruneticre 
applied  with  such  marvellous  results  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  literary  genres.  This  time,  the  over- 
confident champions  of  science,  by  unwarranted 
encroachment  upon  the  domains  of  aesthetics,  of 
philosophy,  and  of  religion,  precipitated  the 
reaction.  Excessive  pretensions  compromise  the 
best  of  causes,  turning  the  fond  hopes  of  its  fol- 
lowers into  disappointment  and  hostility.  Is  it 
surprising  that  disastrous  reaction  followed  the 
unparalleled  development  of  science  between  1840 
and  1880?  Reasoning  from  a  few  established  or 
hypothetical  laws,  enthusiasts  boldly  drew  the 
most  far-reaching  conclusions.  Renan,  Taine, 
Zola  made  promises  that  even  the  genius  of  a 
Claude  Bernard,  a  Pasteur,  a  Berthelot  could 
not  fulfil. 

"Renan,'*  declares  Gustave  Lanson,  ''believed 
in  science  more  ardently  than  any  one."''  To 
him  science  was  the  source  of  all  truth,  the  dis- 
penser of  all  laws,  the  co-ordinator  of  all  principles,  ^ 
a  religion  which   alone  could   solve  the  eternal 

^  "Science  et  Culture,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  6,  1913. 

^  Hist,  de  la  Litt.  jr.,  loth  ed.,  p.  1079.  "Imagine  the  social 
revolution  that  will  result,"  Renan  exclaims  naively,  "when, 
by  imitating  the  work  of  plants,  chemistry  shall  have  discovered 
the  means  of  producing  foods  superior  to  those  which  vegetation 
and  animals  furnish."     Dialogues  Philos. 

3  G.  Sdailles,  E.  Renan,  p.  8. 


204       Brieux  and  French  Society 

problems  of  mankind.  ^  Taine,  while  less  extreme 
than  Renan,  has  been  called  "one  of  the  prophets 
of  the  religion  of  science."''  Zola,  the  "arch- 
priest  of  the  temple  of  heredity,"  mounted  upon  a 
tripod,  to  use  an  expression  of  Edouard  Rod,  every 
time  he  spoke  of  the  "sovereign  laws  of  science."^ 
And  Balzac,  who  had  considered  himself  a  "doctor 
of  social  science,"  Auguste  Comte,  the  founder 
of  the  positivist  creed,  Sainte-Beuve,  Flaubert, 
the  Goncourts,  Leconte  de  Lisle,  Littre,  and  Sully 
Prudhomme  were  all  fervent  worshippers  at  the 
new  shrine. 

The  immense  prestige  of  this  galaxy  of  devotees 
assured  a  rapid  triumph  of  the  new  cult.  Thought 
was  invaded  by  positivism;  art,  by  naturalism. 
Analysis  dominated  criticism;  realism  reigned 
in  literature.  Religion  gave  way  to  scepticism. 
Scholarship,  criticism,  the  novel,  poetry  (especially 
that  of  the  Parnassian  School), — all  become 
scientific.'*    The  masses,  to  whom  the  promises 

» Avenir  de  la  Science,  p.  to8. 

^  V.  Giraud,  "La  Personne  et  I'CEuvre  de  Taine,"  Deux  Mondes, 
Feb.  I,  1908.  According  to  G.  Monod,  however,  Taine  early- 
formed  a  clear  conception  of  the  legitimate  domain  of  science, 
and  hence  guarded  against  entertaining  extravagant  hopes. 
{Renan,  Taine,  Michelet,  p.  148.)  Monod  and  Giraud  probably 
differ  only  regarding  the  date  of  Taine 's  disillusion,  which  Paul 
Boiu-get  would  place  after  Les  Essais  (1858)  and  La  Litterature 
Anglaise  (1863).  Some  would  extend  the  date  so  as  to  include 
U Intelligence  (1870). 

3  Idees  Mor.  du  Temps  Pres. 

4  When  in  1837  Arago  predicted  "the  imminent  predominance 
of  scientific  education,"  Lamartine  expressed  the  conviction  that 


Literature  and  Science  205 

of  material  comfort  make  such  a  strong  appeal, 
easily  persuaded  themselves  that  immediate, 
tangible  happiness  was  preferable  to  vague  hopes 
of  future  reward.  In  other  words,  '7a  raison  de  la 
royautt  de  la  science,  c^est  V amour  du  bonheur.^*^ 
But  unfortunately  happiness,  even  in  its  so-called 
tangible  form,  is  only  a  relative  conception,  which 
may  fail  to  satisfy  its  possessor.  For  the  maxi- 
mum, once  obtained,  is  likely  to  seem  disap- 
pointing when  compared  with  our  expectations, 
especially  if  we  have  hoped  for  a  panacea. 

With  due  recognition  of  the  marvellous 
achievements  of  science,  we  can  understand  why 
infinitely  greater  results  were  expected  from  it, 
and  why,  on  its  failing  to  fulfil  its  "promises,"^ 
the  cries  "failure"  and  "bankruptcy"  were 
raised.^  Such  men  as  Brunetiere,  Tolstoy,  and 
Nietzsche  now  had  their  revanche.^    Brunetiere 

harm  would  result  to  the  moral  sciences,  which,  he  declared,  were 
infinitely  more  essential  to  mankind  than  the  mathematical  or 
the  natural  sciences. 

^  E.  Faguet,  Quest.  Pol.,  p/300. 

^  Paul  de  Broglie  remarks  in  this  connection  that  "he  who 
promises  must  keep  his  word."     La  Reaction  contre  le  Positivisme 

(1894),  p.  85. 

3  Lamartine  declares  that  "la  plus  terrible  et  la  plus  meurtriere 
des  passions  a  donner  aux  masses,  c'est  la  passion  de  I'impossible. 
Ne  trompez  pas  I'homme,  vous  le  rendriez  fou,  et  quand,  de  la 
folic  sacr6e  de  votre  ideal,  vous  le  laisseriez  retomber  sur  Tariditd 
de  ses  miseres,  vous  le  rendriez  fou  furieux."  Max  Nordau 
assures  us  that  "the  Jesuits  invented  the  fiction  of  the  bank- 
ruptcy of  science."     Degeneracy,  i,  180. 

4  "Aux  yeux  de  Nietzsche,  la  science  est  une  chimere."  E. 
Schur6,  "  Nietzsche  en  France,"  Reu.  Bleue,  Sept.  8,  1900. 


2o6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

rightfully  laid  the  blame,  not  upon  science,  nor 
even  upon  scientists,  but  upon  the  intemperate 
spokesmen  of  science.  "Those,'*  he  declared, 
"who  today  have  on  their  lips  the  great  names 
Claude  Bernard,  Darwin,  Pasteur,  forget,  in 
pronouncing  these  names  with  such  eclat,  how 
much  courage  and  genius  Pasteur,  Darwin,  and 
Claude  Bernard  had  to  expend,  in  order  to  triumph 
over  the  extravagant  claims  made  by  the  savants 
of  their  time."^  In  an  earlier  article,  which 
called  forth  wide  comment,  Brunetiere,  after 
quoting  Renan  and  other  devotees  of  science  to 
show  that  they  did  in  fact  make  extravagant 
promises,  asserts  that  the  natural  and  physical 
sciences  have  not  succeeded  in  explaining  the 
nature  of  man  as  man — that  is,  a  being  endowed 
with  thought,  will,  and  conscience.^  He  further- 
more denies  that  the  physical  and  historical 
sciences  have  yielded  any  of  the  really  important 
results  expected  from  them.  Tolstoy  expressed 
the  same  thought  when  he  wrote:  "The  men  of 
modern  science  are  very  fond  of  saying  with 
solemn  assurance :  'We  study  facts  alone,* 
imagining  that  these  words  have  meaning."  ^  This 
explains  his  contempt  for  doctors,  whom  he  calls 
"the  pontiffs  of  science.'*'' 

^  Education  et  Instruction.  This  criticism  may  or  may  not 
have  been  directed  against  Renan.  Brunetiere  simply  says  that 
Renan  was  not  a  savant  and  that  he  had  no  right  to  speak  in  the 
name  of  science. 

^  Apresune  Visiteau  Vatican. 

3  What  Is  to  Be  Done?  ch.  xxix,       -» Kreutzer  Sonata^  oh.  v, 


Literature  and  Science  207 

The  reaction  against  science  in  France  was  both 
spiritual  and  political.  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
mystics^  and  conservatives  supported  the  move- 
ment. And  not  a  few  disappointed  converts 
of  science  deserted  to  their  ranks.  Standard- 
bearers  like  Paul  Bourget,  Edouard  Rod,  Paul 
Desjardins,^  Vogue,  Edouard  Schure,  were  fol- 
lowed by  such  writers  as  Barres,  Coppee,  Huys- 
mans,  Lemaitre,  Bazin,  and  Leon  Daudet.  Brieux 
and  Francois  de  Curel  accorded  at  least  their 
moral  sympathy  to  the  deserters.^  A  similar 
reaction  manifested  itself  gradually  in  philosophy, 
thanks  to  the  evolution  of  Fouillee,  Boutroux, 
and  Bergson.  The  victorious  advance  of  science 
was  checked  by  Pasteur  himself,  who  refused 
to  let  it  dictate  to  him  in  matters  of  faith  and 
conscience.^  Claude  Bernard  assumed  the  same 
attitude  when  he  insisted  on  separating  physiology 
from  spiritual  questions.  ^ 

That  disciples  of  Zola  like  Rod  and  Huysman 
should  have  sought  new  ideals,  was  not  so  surpris- 

^  The  symbolists  and  the  mystics  owed  their  literary  tendencies 
to  their  horror  of  "naturalism"  and  the  materialistic  nudity  of 


science. 

2 


See  Le  Devoir  Preseftt  (1892),  pp.  5,  8,  39,  for  Desjardins's 
attacks  upon  science. 

3  Max  Nordau  declares  that  the  reaction  against  science  was 
due  entirely  to  the  degeneracy  of  its  instigators.  Degeneracy,  i, 
176. 

<  Renan  says:  "Je  ne  congois  la  haute  science,  la  science 
comprenant  son  but  et  sa  fin,  qu'en  dehors  de  toute  croyance 
surnaturelle."     Avenir  de  la  Science,  p.  43. 

s  A.  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Civ.  Contemp.  en  France,  p.  675. 


2o8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

ing  as  the  ^'defection"  of  Bourget  and  Banes, 
both  disciples  of  Taine  and  admirers  of  Renan. 
Bourget* s  change  of  attitude  may  be  seen  by 
comparing  his  Essais  de  Psychologie  with  Le 
Disciple  (1889).  In  the  former,  dated  1882  but 
based  on  earlier  convictions,  we  read:  ''La 
science  depasse  les  esperances  les  phis  hardies.^* 
Seven  years  later,  Bourget  not  only  satirized  the 
claims  of  Renan  and  Ribot  regarding  science,  but 
made  a  persuasive  appeal  to  the  younger  genera- 
tion not  to  become  the  disciples  of  such  dangerous 
theorists.'  And  more  recently  he  has  declared 
that  owing  to  its  limitations,  science  is  not  equipped 
to  furnish  an  explanation  of  the  universe  or  to 
solve  the  mystery  of  life.^  The  evolution  of 
Maurice  Barres  has  scarcely  been  less  pronounced 
than  Bourget's,  though  it  seems  that  Barres  was 
actuated  primarily  by  political  and  patriotic 
motives.  Even  Renan  and  Taine,  pillars  of  the 
temple  of  science,  became  somewhat  unsteady 
as  time  went  on.  Taine' s  reputation  as  a  re- 
actionary, however,  is  based  not  so  much  on  a 
change  in  his  attitude  toward  science  in  its  re- 
stricted sense  as  on  the  conservative  tone  of  the 
latter  volumes  of  his  OrigineSy  a  work  which, 
oddly  enough,  became  "one  of  the  breviaries  of 
the  young  Catholic-royalist  school."^    That  Re- 

*  Le  Disciple,  pref.  and  pp.  1 14-316. 
"Pages  de  Crit.,  ii,  313. 

^  Ibid.,    ii,    315.     Interesting    is    Flaubert's    satire,    Bouvard 
et  Pccuchet,  which,  for  a  time  regarded  as  his  masterpiece,  has 


Literature  and  Science  209 

nan,  too,  saw  the  limitations  of  science,  is  indicated 
by  his  Lettre  d  Berthelot.  But  in  ''retractions"  he 
went  no  further  than  to  say  that  "  science  gives 
happiness  when  we  content  ourselves  with  asking 
only  for  what  it  can  yield." '  Zola,  in  an  endeavour 
to  silence  annoying  protests,  took  the  unassailable 
but  somewhat  vague  standpoint  that  science  had 
not  promised  happiness  at  all;  that  it  had  merely 
promised  truth. 

This  brief  survey  sketches  the  "misunderstand- 
ing" that  grew  out  of  the  scientific  "ideas  of 
1850."^  We  now  come  to  the  reflection  of  the 
conflict  in  literature.  In  such  conflicts,  the  side 
in  the  ascendency  (here  victorious  science)  re- 
mains on  the  defensive,  or  even  passive,  awaiting 
the  attack  of  the  opposition.  From  the  nature 
of  things,  in  the  present  case,  professional  repre- 
sentatives of  science  make  the  best  targets  for 

been  called  "an  indictment  of  human  thought  itself."  (E. 
Faguet,  Flaubert,  p.  134.)  In  this  work,  according  to  Faguet, 
Flaubert  bears  science  a  grudge  for  its  obscurities.  He  covers 
his  two  bourgeois  with  ridicule  because  their  scientific  under- 
takings all  end  in  miserable  failure.  Cf.  ch.  iii,  which  treats 
of  science.  Brieux's  recent  play,  Le  Bourgeois  aux  Champs^ 
which  is  based  in  part  on  the  theme  of  Bouvard  el  Pecuchet, 
sheds  new  light  on  his  attitude  towards  science. 

^  Disc,  de  Reception  (1879). 

^  "These  words,"  says  Michel  Salomon,  "are  known  as  the 
sign  of  a  kind  of  creed  of  which  the  basic  article  is  the  sovereignty 
of  science,  of  science  reduced  to  facts,  one  set  of  facts  explaining 
another."  ("Triomphe  de  I'Esprit  Posltlvlste,"  Rev.  Bleue,  July 
5,  1902.)  According  to  Brunetiere,  positivism  excludes  meta- 
physical speculation  and  limits  science  to  what  can  be  counted, 
measured,  or  weighed. 
14 


210       Brieux  and  French  Society 

satire.  Hence  the  frequent  attacks  on  the  medical 
profession.  From  among  the  numerous  Hterary 
works  treating  the  theme  of  science,  I  have 
selected  as  typical  four  dramas  and  two  novels  on 
heredity,  one  satire  in  dramatic  form  on  science 
as  the  "new  idol,"  and  two  general  satires  on 
doctors.  First  and  fullest  treatment  is  due,  as 
usual,  to  Brieux's  VEvasion  {The  Escape^  1896); 
none  of  the  other  works  to  be  discussed  equals 
it  in  literary  merit. 

M.  de  Morsier,  in  explaining  the  genesis  of  the 
piece,  tells  us  that  Brieux  met  one  night  in  the 
Latin  Quarter  an  artist  who  was  drinking  his  talent 
away  because,  being  the  son  of  a  drunkard,  he 
thought  himself  hopelessly  condemned  to  drunken- 
ness. Heredity  immediately  appeared  to  Brieux 
as  an  "accursed  jail"  and  he  realized  the  necessity 
of  crying  out  with  all  his  might  that  its  captives 
can  free  themselves;  that  the  so-called  "fatal 
laws  of  heredity"  are  not  fatal  at  all.  ^  The 
three-act  comedy  in  which  he  has  embodied  these 
ideas  had  the  honour  of  a  first  representation  at 
the  Comedie  Frangaise  and  was  crowned  by  the 
French  Academy.  ^  The  satire  is  directed  against 
the  presumption  of  pseudo-scientists  who,  with 
their   authoritative    decrees    and    "infallibility," 

» *'E.  Brieux,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  12,  1903. 

^  The  Toirac  prize  of  eight  hundred  dollars,  though  founded 
by  a  member  of  the  medical  profession,  was  awarded  to  L'Evasio?i 
as  the  best  piece  produced  at  Moliere's  playhouse  during  the 
year. 


Literature  and  Science  211 

exercise  a  baneful  influence  over  people  of  weak 
will.  More  specifically  Brieux  develops  the  ques- 
tion: Can  the  child  of  a  suicide  father  or  of  a 
courtesan  mother  become  a  normal  being,  in  spite 
of  the  obsessing  theories  of  a  specialist  in  heredity 
who  declares  the  child's  emancipation  impossible? 

In  order  to  obtain  the  Commander's  Cross  of 
the  Legion  of  Honour,  Brieux's  specialist,  Dr. 
Bertry,  a  member  of  the  Paris  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine and  professor  of  neuropathology,  has  his 
assistant,  La  Belleuse,  prepare  his  biography. 
This  emphasizes  particularly  Bertry's  monumental 
works  on  heredit}^  (twelve  volumes  published  by 
Alcan),  the  fruits  of  thirty  years'  research,  in 
which  he  has  far  surpassed  his  predecessors  and 
fixed  for  all  time  the  laws  of  this  science. 

In  view  of  these  "infallible"  laws,  Dr.  Bertry 
declares  that  his  stepson,  Jean  Belmont,  is  doomed 
to  hypochondria  and  melancholy,  because  the 
boy's  father  committed  suicide.  He  likewise 
regards  his  younger  brother's  daughter,  Lucienne, 
whom  he  has  brought  up,  as  a  victim  of  heredity, 
because  her  mother  was  a  courtesan.  But  the 
two  young  people,  having  fallen  in  love  with 
each  other,  resolve  to  marry  and  occupy  Jean's 
country  estate  near  Ebreville,  in  the  hope  of 
escaping  from  the  prison  to  which  heredity  has 
condemned  them.  Their  project  meets  with  the 
emphatic  approval  of  both  Dr.  Richon,  an  un- 
pretentious physician  of  Ebreville,  and  Lucienne^s 
father,  who  questions  his  brother's  theories.     In 


212       Brieux  and  French  Society 

a  dispute  with  Dr.  Bertry  over  the  marriage,  the 
younger  brother,  speaking  for  the  atithor,  says 
that  he  is  tired  of  the  absurd  heredity  hobby. 
To  him  religious  superstition  which,  he  declares, 
the  present  atheistic  generation  has  abandoned 
for  the  superstition  of  science,  is  preferable  and 
makes  fewer  victims.^  It  seems  to  him  and  Dr. 
Richon  that  the  presumptuous  theories  of  heredity 
only  belittle  human  character  and  make  the  living 
terrified  prisoners  of  the  dead.  As  it  turns  out, 
they  are  right ;  for  after  the  marriage  of  the  couple, 
Jean,  now  a  gentleman-farmer,  becomes  splendidly 
healthy  and  cheerful.  Lucienne,  however,  fearing 
that  emancipation  from  her  uncle's  obsessing 
theories  is  impossible,  soon  yearns  for  the  frivolity 
of  Parisian  life.  Her  flirtation  with  Paul  de 
Maucour,  a  former  suitor,  precipitates  a  violent 
quarrel  with  Jean.  While  visiting  them,  Dr.  Bertry 
meets  le  pere  Guernoche,  a  shepherd-healer  who, 
without  giving  medicine,  has  cured  cases  pro- 
nounced hopeless  by  him.  The  scene  between 
the  renowned  specialist  (he  is  carrying  an  armful 
of  medical  literature)  and  the  shepherd-doctor 
is  truly  Molieresque.  Mystified  and  impressed 
by  the  magic  healing  skill  of  le  pere  Guer7ioche, 

*  La  Belleuse  says:  "There  is  not  a  human  being  who  knows 
our  professional  quality  who  won't  get  anxious  if  we  look  at  him 
steadily."  This  confirms  the  assertion  of  Abel  Hermant,  who 
writes:  "  The  sick  have  always  had  this  confidence — this  morbid 
confidence — in  their  doctors;  but  in  the  past  it  was  intermittent, 
limited  to  times  of  sickness  and  tempered  with  French  scepticism. 
It  tends  more  and  more  to  resemble  the  fanaticism  of  religion." 


Literature  and  Science  213 

Bertry,  who  is  suffering  from  a  mysterious 
cardiac  ailment,  would  like  to  take  treatment 
with  him,  but  his  professional  dignity  forbids. 
Yet  on  receiving  the  coveted  Cross  of  the  Legion 
of  Honour,  he  confesses  to  his  brother,  during  a 
recurrence  of  his  malady,  that  he  has  not  believed 
in  medicine  for  some  time.  Seizing  the  psycho- 
logical moment,  the  brother  urges  him  to  assure 
Jean  and  Lucienne  that  his  claims  regarding 
morbid  heredity  are  premature;  that  we  all  have 
in  us  sufficient  energy  to  overcome  such  obstacles. 
So  Dr.  Bertry  does,  begging  their  pardon  for  the 
wrong  done  them.  Thus  the  young  couple, 
who  have  been  on  the  verge  of  separation,  soon 
reach  a  reconciliation,  thanks  to  this  dissipation 
of  the  obsessing  spell  and  proof  that  Maucour  is 
unworthy  of  Lucienne' s  love.  In  this  way,  both 
victims  of  heredity  escape  from  their  prison. 

Jules  Lemaitre  thinks  that  in  this  play  Brieux's 
problem  ends  with  the  first  act,  for  after  the 
young  couple's  marriage,  their  troubles  need  not 
be  attributed  to  heredity.^  However  that  may 
be,  the  first  act  is  the  best  technically.  It  is 
almost  pure  satire,  since  satire  is  the  most  effective 
weapon  against  such  bold  presumption  as  Dr. 
Bertry's.  It  also  makes  skilful  use  of  the  "rea- 
soner" — that  convenient  personage  of  the  older 
drama  that  Brieux  revived  as  early  as  Menages 
d' Artistes.  In  fact  in  V Evasion  there  are  two  rea- 
soners.     Dr.  Richon — we  shall  meet  him  again,  by 

*  Impressions,  x,  49. 


214       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  way,  in  Les  Remplaganfes — representing  provin- 
cial modesty,  makes  us  understand  the  arrogance 
of  his  Parisian  confreres.  But  he  is  not  quaUfied 
to  dispute  with  Dr.  Bertry,  who  would  overwhelm 
him  with  his  professional  prestige.  Besides,  it 
is  sometimes  convenient  to  bring  a  question  out 
of  the  domain  of  professional  technicalities. 
Hence  the  role  of  the  younger  Bertry,  who 
furthermore  can  speak  to  his  brother  far  more 
freely  than  Richon  without  seeming  rude. 

The  rest  of  the  play,  except  the  admirable 
scenes  in  which  le  pere  Guernoche  appears,  is  not  so 
good.  In  fact  the  second  act  is  defective  in  psy- 
chology as  well  as  technique.  The  young  husband' s 
nature  prepares  us  poorly  for  his  jealous  quarrel 
with  Lucienne.  The  scenes  of  the  Belmont s' 
life  in  the  country  lack  the  vividness  of  reality; 
we  are  not  made  to  feel  sufficiently  Lucienne' s 
loneliness.  The  more  worldly  characters,  with 
the  exception  of  La  Belleuse,  Dr.  Bertry's  assist- 
ant, are  artificial.  It  has  been  said,  too,  that 
Lucienne  does  not  show  enough  determination 
to  resist  her  ''fatal  heritage" — not  so  much  as 
Jean,  who  is  admirable  in  his  strength  of  purpose. 
We  must  remember,  however,  that  her  life  in  her 
uncle* s  house  brought  her  more  directly  under  the 
influence  of  his  theories  than  Jean. 

But  the  vital  part  of  the  play — that  is,  the 
attack  on  the  presumption  of  science — fully 
deserves  Jules  Lemaitre's  praise:  that  it  is  pro- 
bably ''the  cleverest  and  keenest  satire  on  medical 


Literature  and  Science  215 

science  and  doctors  since  the  time  of  Moliere.'*^ 
Not  that  the  drama  is  an  attack  on  medicine  in 
general.  Brieux's  sympathetic  attitude  towards 
the  doctor,  his  personal  representative  in  three 
later  plays — Le  Berceau,  Les  Remplagantes,  Les 
AvarieSj  proves  that  he  holds  the  medical  profes- 
sion in  high  esteem.  But  with  extravagant  and 
dangerous  claims  of  medical  science,  with  medical 
insincerity  that  may  go  so  far  as  to  suggest  charla- 
tanism, Brieux  has  not  the  slightest  patience.  ^ 

In  connection  with  VEvasion^  we  may  mention 
by  way  of  contrast  Le  Docteur  Pascal  {Doctor 
Pascal) J  a  novel  of  Zola's  published  in  1893,  in 
which  suggestions  for  Brieux's  play  can  be  de- 
tected. With  Zola,  the  most  enthusiastic  ex- 
ponent of  heredity  among  leading  French  men  of 
letters,  it  was  a  dogma  ^  or,  as  Doumic  says,  he 
knew  only  one  law:  heredity,  in  which  he  had 
unlimited  faith.  "^  His  hero,  Dr.  Pascal,  who  is 
what  Dr.  Bertry  falsely  claims  to  be,  has,  like 
Bertry,  devoted  thirty  years  to  the  study  of 
heredity,  piHng  up  docum.ent  upon  document;  like 
Bertry,  too,  he  is  assisted  by  a  niece.     Both  send 

*  Impressions. 

*  Naturally  the  medical  profession  fell  tooth  and  nail  upon 
the  play,  though  admitting  its  literary  success.  Dr.  A.  Prieur, 
who  calls  Dr.  Bertry  a  "guignol  incoherent,"  declares  that  Brieux 
had  no  conception  of  the  scientific  aspect  of  the  subject.  ("De 
'I'Evasion*  aux  'Avaries,'"  Mercure  de  France,  Dec,  1901.) 
Subsequently  the  magistracy  assume  the  same  disdainful  attitude 
towards  La  Robe  Rouge. 

3  J.  du  Tillet,  Rev.  Bleue,  July  16,  1892. 

*  Deux  Mondes,  June  15,  1900. 


2i6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

numerous  communications  to  the  Academy  of 
Medicine.  Finally,  Pascal,  like  Bertry,  has  a 
cardiac  ailment,  to  which  he  succumbs. 

The  novel  is  a  sort  of  clearing  house  for  the 
Rougon-Macquarts,  the  family  whose  hereditary 
traits  Zola  studies  in  his  twenty  volumes.  Dr. 
Pascal's  remarks  to  his  niece  when  he  deigns  to 
explain  the  sacred  truths  of  heredity,  justify  not 
only  the  book  that  bears  his  name,  but  the  author's 
many  other  volumes  as  well.  **  What  an  immense 
fresco  there  is  to  be  painted ! "  he  exclaims.  ''What 
a  stupendous  human  tragedy,  what  a  comedy 
there  is  to  be  written  with  heredity,  which  is  the 
very  genesis  of  families,  of  societies,  and  of  the 
world!"  It  is  heredity  that  makes  imbeciles, 
madmen,  criminals,  and  great  men.  ^  He  accepts 
his  own  malady  with  resignation,  knowing  that 
it  is  "heredity,  fated  and  inevitable."^  Evi- 
dently Zola  believed  as  firmly  in  the  "fatal  laws 
of  heredity"  as  Dr.  Bertry  professed  to  believe 

*  Max  Nordau,  in  his  work  on  Degeneracy  (1892),  shows  that 
all  the  literary  men  of  talent  in  Europe,  particularly  those  of 
France,  are  insane.  Compare  The  Sanity  of  A  rt,  a  refutation  of 
Nordau  by  Bernard  Shaw.  Charles  Ferd  asserts  that  artistic 
temperament  and  genius  are  closely  related  to  insanity. 
("[L'H^r^dit^Morbide,"  Deux  Monies,  Nov.  15,  1894.)  Andre  Le 
Breton,  after  remarking  that  the  difference  between  the  insanity 
of  a  Rousseau  and  the  cerebral  exaltation  of  a  Balzac  is  not 
great,  says:  "In  reality,  all  men  of  great  imagination  are 
somewhat  subject  to  Rousseau's  insanity."     Balzac,  p.  220. 

^  As  a  satire  on  Zola's  heredity  mania,  Marc  Monnier  wrote 
a  novel,  Un  Detraque  (1883),  whose  hero,  like  Don  Quixote,  goes 
insane  from  reading  VAssommoir  and  Nana. 


\ 


Literature  and  Science  217 

in  them.     VEvasion  seems  like  a  disguised  satire 
on  Le  Docteur  Pascal.  ^ 

Alphonse  Daudet,  in  his  charming  comedy, 
U Obstacle  (The  Obstacle),  produced  in  1890,  takes 
a  more  cheerful  view  of  heredity.  Didier  d'Alein, 
a  young  marquis,  is  engaged  to  Madeleine,  an 
orphan  not  yet  of  age  and  consequently  at  the 
mercy  of  her  guardian.  Didier' s  father,  while  in 
militar}^  service  in  Africa,  went  insane  as  the 
result  of  sunstroke.  This  occurred  two  years 
after  the  boy's  birth,  and  as  his  mother  has  had 
him  brought  up  away  from  his  father,  she  has 
said  nothing  about  the  "fatal  heritage"  to  Made- 
leine's relations.  On  learning  of  it,  the  guardian 
breaks  the  engagement,  and  when  pressed  for  an 
explanation,  hurls  at  Didier  the  cruel  words: 
"People  like  you  should  be  given  a  cold  bath 
and  sent  to  the  asylum."  Didier  now  consults 
specialists  and  broods  over  books  on  heredity,  in 
which  he  finds  discouraging  theories  like  those 
of  Dr.  Bertry's.  In  order  to  save  his  life,  his 
mother  tries  to  make  him  believe  that  he  is  il- 
legitimate.*    But  Didier  renders  this  unnecessary 

'  Just  how  much  Brieux  owes  to  Zola,  would  be  difficult  to 
say.  One  critic  calls  Brieux  "a  confirmed  naturalist."  Another 
asserts  that  "he  writes  as  one  descending  in  part  from  the  natural- 
ists." Still  another  speaks  of  "Zola,  whose  influence  is  so  marked 
in  all  of  Brieux's  works."  Brieux  has  never  committed  himself 
further  than  to  express  admiration  for  VAssommoir.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  he  was  influenced  by  Zola  after  his  first  two 
or  three  serious  dramas. 

^The  heroic  mother  in  La  Faute  de  Madame  Bucieres  (1884) 


2i8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

by  his  resolute  stand.  "I  refuse,"  he  says,  "to 
accept  blindly  the  new  catechisms  of  modern  sci- 
ence. We  have  in  us  a  moral  force  which,  if  we 
will,  can  free  us  from  these  laws  of  fatality."' 
Didier*s  happiness  is  complete  when  Madeleine, 
having  come  of  age,  determines  to  marry  him  in 
spite  of  her  guardian. 

Daudet's  optimistic  solution,  it  may  be  said, 
begs  the  question,  since  he  chooses  a  case  of 
artificial  heredity.  In  this  he  differs  from  Brieux 
in  VEvasioTiy  for  while  Brieux  separates  his 
victims  from  their  parents  early  in  life,  they  are 
at  least  tainted  with  a  ''fatal"  heritage.  Never- 
theless, Daudet's  drama  shows  admirably  the 
tyranny  of  the  science  of  heredity;  for  if  a  sham 
scare  can  do  so  much  harm,  what  must  we  expect 
from  the  reality? 

The  fate  of  natural  children  like  Lucienne  Ber- 

a  novel  by  G.  Pradcl,  has  recourse  to  the  same  fiction  in  a  similar 
situation. 

In  UEtau  (1909),  a  drama  by  Andr^  Sardou,  Jean  Auriol's 
mother  calms  his  fear  of  insanity  by  confessing  to  him  that  he 
is  illegitimate.  But  his  fiancee's  mother,  refusing  to  believe 
the  truth,  breaks  the  engagement.  Finding  in  his  despair  that 
the  curse,  whether  real  or  fictitious,  is  squeezing  his  brain  like  a 
"vise,"  Jean  throws  himself  over  a  precipice. 

^  Vouloir  (19 13),  a  comedy  by  Gustave  Guiches,  satirizes  the 
vaunted  supremacy  of  the  will.  A  famous  physician,  whose 
motto  is,  "Avec  de  la  volont^  on  arrive  k  tout.  .  .  .  II  n'y  a 
qu'k  vouloir,"  saves  the  lives  of  two  friends,  a  despondent  widower 
and  an  unhappy  widow,  by  bringing  about  their  union.  But 
when  the  doctor  discovers  that  he  himself  loves  the  former  widow 
more  than  he  suspected,  his  maxim  breaks  down  and  he  is  obliged 
to  flee. 


Literature  and  Science  219 

try — those  victims  of  both  heredity  and  social 
prejudice — was  dear  to  the  romanticists.  Dumas 
fils  continued  to  plead  for  them;  and  even  Augier, 
the  implacable  author  of  V Aventuriere  (1848) 
and  Le  Manage  d'Olympe  (1854),  espoused  their 
cause  in  Les  FonrchamhauU  (1878).  Though  not 
all  by  any  means  are  the  children  of  courtesans, 
yet  the  chances  are  that  heredity  will  be  un- 
favourable to  them.  An  illegitimate  son,  accord- 
ing to  literary  tradition,  is  much  more  likely  than 
a  girl  to  overcome  the  hostile  forces  of  heredity 
and  the  prejudices  of  society.  In  three  recent 
studies  in  the  chances  of  natural  daughters — Mau- 
passant's Yvette  (1884),  Meilhac*s  Mar  got  (1890), 
and  Bernstein's  Le  Detour  (1902) — heredity  plays 
an  important  part. 

Maupassant's  Yvette,  the  daughter  of  a  courte- 
san— a  pseudo-marquise — is,  like  Mr.  Shaw's 
Vivie  Warren,  grown  before  she  discovers  her 
mother's  profession.  Then  the  inevitable  ex- 
planation follows.  The  girl  makes  her  terms, 
threatening  to  leave  home  if  her  mother  does 
not  begin  a  new  life  at  once.  This  threat  Yvette 
carries  out  by  an  attempt  at  suicide,  leaving  a 
note  in  which  she  says:  "I  am  taking  my  life, 
in  order  not  to  become  a  woman  of  fashionable 
prostitution."  Her  mother  believes  her  threat,  be- 
cause she  knows  very  well,  as  one  of  the  characters 
says  who  represents  Maupassant,  that  the  girl 

belongs  by  her  birth,  her  education,  and  heredity 


220       Brieux  and  French  Society 

to  the  higher  ranks  of  prostitution.  She  cannot 
escape  unless  she  takes  the  veil.  She  cannot  flee 
from  destin}^  "When  she  ceases  to  be  a  young  woman, 
she  will  become  a  woman  of  the  street,  that's  all.^ 

Meilhac*s  Mar  got  (1890)  is  a  light  comedy  cut 
after  Scribe's  pattern,  with  a  touch  of  romantic 
mystery.  The  heroine,  a  child  of  gallantry,  loses 
her  mother  early  in  life  and  is  protected  by  a 
courtesan  and  a  wealthy  bachelor,  Boisvillette. 
They  assert  that  they  want  Margot  to  be  re- 
spectable, and  finally  Boisvillette  asks  the  girl  to 
marry  him.  But  mindful  of  her  origin,  and 
resolved  to  stay  in  the  path  of  virtue,  she  refuses 
because  she  fears  the  temptation  of  so  much 
grandeur.  Instead,  she  marries  Boisvillette' s 
game-keeper.  The  important  point  is  that  Mar- 
got*s  innate  courage  triumphs  over  the  force  of 
heredity.  Fortunately  she  is  not  obsessed  by 
Dr.  Bertry's  infallible  theories. 

Henry  Bernstein's  heroine  in  Le  Detour  {The 
Detour,  1902)  fails  to  ''make  good'*  because  he 
so  wills  it.  Jacqueline's  father  and  mother  were 
living   together  in  free    love    (since   the  father's 

^  Pierre  Wolff  illustrates  this  truth  in  Leurs  Filles  (1891). 
Compare,  in  Marcel  Provost's  Les  De7ni-Vierges  (1894),  the 
words  of  Etiennette :  "I  am  not  at  all  sure  of  remaining  virtuous : 
it  is  not  easy  for  a  girl  of  my  origin."  However,  in  Frederique, 
a  later  novel,  Prevost  takes  an  optimistic  view  of  the  question. 
The  heroine,  an  illegitimate  child  brought  up  amidst  evil  influ- 
ences, becomes  a  leader  in  the  work  of  social  uplift.  Alfred 
Capus  makes  one  of  his  heroines  say:  "I  am  not  at  all  ashamed 
of  being  a  natural  child."     Noire  Jeunesse  (1904). 


Literature  and  Science  221 

parents  refused  their  consent  to  his  marriage) 
when,  shortly  before  her  birth,  her  father  was 
killed  in  an  accident.  Her  mother  became  a 
courtesan,  but  gave  her  a  good  education.  Jac- 
queline, though  she  loves  her  mother,  has  no 
desire  to  imitate  her  life.  Unfortunately  she 
marries  into  an  austere  Protestant  family,  whose 
well-meant  protection,  by  making  her  feel  every 
moment  how  much  she  owes  to  them,  renders  her 
situation  intolerable.  "It  is  in  vain  that  she  has 
made  a  detour  towards  the  regular  life  of  the 
bourgeoisie:  being  the  daughter  of  a  courtesan, 
she  cannot  escape  her  destiny."^  But  Jacqueline 
would  have  had  nothing  to  fear  from  heredity, 
if  the  dramatist's  caprice  had  not  placed  her  in 
such  an  extraordinary  situation.^ 

Yvette,  Margot,  and  Jacqueline  are  not  mere 
fantastical  creations.  They  are  as  real  as  any 
Lucienne  Bertry  who  might  justify  the  worst 
of  her  uncle's  fears.  Hugues  Le  Roux  remarks 
that  the  world  seems  to  be  governed  by  a  great 
law  of  contrast — a  law  of  irony,  according  to 
which  frequently  evil  gives  rise  to  good,  and 
immorality  to  morality. ^    This  ''law  of  return" 

»E.  Stoullig,  Annates  (1902),  p.  175. 

^  That  Bernstein  would  not  assign  undue  importance  to  the 
force  of  heredity  is  evident  from  his  drama  Israel.  Here  the 
hero,  having  been  brought  up  in  ignorance  of  his  birth,  becomes 
an  arch  enemy  of  the  Jews,  his  father's  race.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  the  dramatist  intends  this  feature  as  a  satire  on 
snobbery. 

i  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  25,  1890. 


222       Brieux  and  French  Society 

as  scientists  call  it,  was  admitted  even  by  Zola's 
Dr.  Pascal. 

Belief  in  heredity,  carried  to  its  logical  conclu- 
sion, leads  to  the  explanation  if  not  the  justifica- 
tion,  of  crime.  In  Edouard  Rod's  novel,  VInutile 
Effort  {The  Useless  Effort,  1903),  an  attorney 
maintains  that  the  only  thesis  possible  in  behalf  of 
such  criminals  as  anarchists  is  irresponsibility  on 
the  ground  of  heredity.  ^  The  cause  of  their  crime 
must  be  sought  outside  of  their  perpetrators, 
who  are  products  of  multiple  and  fatal  influences. "" 
Such  claims  as  these,  however,  violate  the  princi- 
ples set  forth  earlier  by  Octave  Feuillet,  who 
declared  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  natal 
fatality;  that  it  is  absurd  to  say  of  a  rascal  that 
he  was  born  a  rascal,  or  of  a  prostitute  that  she 
could  have  been  nothing  else! 

I  believe  [he  says  in  the  introduction  to  M.  de 

^  Sometimes  an  author  must  be  interpreted  ironically.  Thus 
Sardou's  Rabagas  (intended  as  a  satire  on  Gambetta)  says  of 
his  client,  whose  acquittal  he  has  obtained:  "The  son  of  an 
assassin  father  .  .  .  and  endowed  by  nature  with  evil  and 
ferocious  instincts,  Bezuchard  had  a  right  to  my  support.  Where 
justice  denounced  a  murderer,  I  could  see  only  a  victim.  The 
real  criminal  is  not  Bezuchard,  but  nature,  which  endowed 
him  with  beastly  appetites."     Rabagas,  ii,  4. 

^  In  Resurrection  (i,  ch.  xxi),  we  read:  "The  public  prosecutor 
declared  that  the  laws  of  heredity  were  so  far  proved  by  science 
that  we  can  not  only  deduce  crime  from  heredity,  but  heredit}'' 
from  crime."  And  again  in  the  same  chapter:  "The  public 
prosecutor  declared  that  Euphemia  .  .  .  was  a  victim  of  heredity. 
As  for  Maslova,  he  said  she  was  illegitimate  and  probably  carried 
in  her  the  germs  of  criminality." 


Literature  and  Science  223 

Cantors  (1867)]  that  the  hero  of  this  book  was  bom 
to  be  either  an  upright  man,  or  the  contrary,  or 
something  between,  according  to  the  inchnation  that 
his  preceptors  were  to  impress  upon  his  propensities 
and  his  faculties,  according  to  environment  .  .  . 
and  according  to  the  use  that  he  himself  was  to  make 
of  his  own,  intelligent,  free  will.^ 

Of  capital  importance  are  Feuillet's  last  words: 
"Intelligent,  free  will."  If  the  will  is  free,  then 
the  force  of  morbid  heredity  becomes  negligible, 
and  the  Jean  Belmonts,  the  Lucienne  Bertrys, 
the  Didier  d'Aleins  have  nothing  to  fear.  This,  of 
course,  is  just  what  Taine,  Ribot,  and  Zola  are 
far  from  conceding.^  The  question  involves  the 
fundamental  differences  between  determinism  and 
indeterminism ;  between  naturalism  and  idealism; 
between  intellectualism  and  pragmatism;  between 
rationalism  and  what  Edouard  Schure  calls 
inspiration,  intuition,  voyance.  A  solution  would 
depend  further  on  such  factors  as  the  dogma  of 
original  sin  and  the  theory  of  the  innate  honte 
of  man.  It  would  test  the  merits  of  Pascal's 
theory  that  man,   in  nature,   is  like  an  empire 

^  J.-H.  Rosny  declares  in  Ulmperieuse  Bonte,  which  we  looked 
at  in  the  last  chapter,  that  "the  son  of  a  bandit  is  not  born  with  a 
fatal  heritage,  nor  is  the  son  of  an  insane  man  or  of  an  imbecile. 
Science,  by  exaggerating  a  few  insignificant  truths,  draws  false 
conclusions." 

^  Bourget's  "disciple,"  saturated  with  the  depressing  theories 
of  science  regarding  the  will,  suggests  a  reversal  of  the  old  dictum 
so  as  to  read :  *  *  Where  there 's  a  way,  there 's  a  will. ' '  Le  Disciple, 
p.  114. 


224       Brieux  and  French  Society 

within    an    empire,  surrounded  on    all    sides   by 
nature,  but  subject  only  to  his  own  laws.  ^ 

In  so  far  as  the  issue  regards  the  human  will, 
we  find  the  two  points  of  view  set  forth  long  ago 
by  Corneille  and  Racine.  The  dramatic  system 
of  Corneille,  based  on  the  freedom  of  the  will, 
shows  man's  power  to  overcome  obstacles,  to 
carve  out  his  destiny  as  a  sovereign  master  of  his 
passions  and  his  impulses.  Racine,  on  the  con- 
trary, who  demonstrates  the  fragility  of  volition, 
represents  the  will  as  ruled  by  our  passions.  If, 
therefore,  these  two  poets  had  concerned  them- 
selves with  heredity,  they  would  probably  have 
disagreed  in  theory.  But  their  love  of  truth,  their 
sanity  and  moderation,  would  have  arrayed  them 
both  against  a  Dr.  Bertry  who,  with  his  pose 
of  infallibility,  may  drive  even  imaginary  victims 
of  heredity  to  despair.  The  sincere  convictions 
of  a  Dr.  Pascal,  on  the  contrary,  deserve  respect, 
though  we  realize  that  they  are  based  largely  on 
the  exaggerations  of  a  mind  lacking  sense  of  pro- 
portion. ^   The  conclusions  of  Dr.  Nordau  ^  indicate 

*  If  I  understand  La  Fille  Sauvage  (1902),  Francois  de  Curel 
would  emphasize  the  resistance  of  man's  animal  instincts  to 
the  influence  of  civilization.  This  is  equivalent  to  stressing 
the  force  of  heredity.     Cf.  26.  ed.,  pp.  56,  72. 

'Bernard  Shaw  says:  "It  does  happen  exceptionally  that  a 
practising  doctor  makes  a  contribution  to  science.  .  .  .  But  it 
happens  much  oftener  that  he  draws  disastrous  conclusions  from 
his  clinical  experience,  because  he  has  no  conception  of  scientific 
method,  and  believes,  like  any  rustic,  that  the  handling  of  evi- 
dence and  statistics  needs  no  expertness."     The  Doctor* s  Dilemma. 

3  It  does  not  once  occur  to  Max  Nordau,  in  his  two  stout 


Literature  and  Science  225 

a  similar  defect.  Brunetiere^s  remark,  *' Neither 
childhood  nor  youth  can  withstand  the  intoxica- 
tion with  which  science  at  first  fills  its  neophytes; 
only  manhood  can  bear  it,"  needs  perhaps  further 
restriction. 

Naturally  not  all  authors  who  satirize  doctors 
and  the  arrogance  of  science  treat  particularly 
of  heredity.  It  is  worth  while  to  look  briefly 
at  two  or  three  works  in  which  there  is  some  other 
target. 

The  younger  Bertry^s  outburst  against  "scien- 
tific superstition"  in  V Evasion  is  taken  up  by 
Frangois  de  Curel,  a  dramatist  eminently  qualified 
to  deal  with  the  conflict  between  science  and  re- 
hgion.  On  account  of  his  duality  of  mind,  he  has 
been  called  a  ''two-faced  Janus,"  for  he  is  at  the 
same  time  medicEval  and  modern,  a  rationalist 
and  a  Catholic.  In  La  Noiivelle  Idole  {The  New 
Idol)  J  produced  in  1899,  by  which  we  are  to  under- 
stand Science,  he  portrays  a  physician.  Dr. 
Donnat,  whose  fanatical  faith  in  his  idol  leads 
him  to  sacrifice  human  life  on  a  grand  scale  in 
the  hope  of  discovering  a  cure  for  cancer.^     An 

volumes  on  Degeneracy,  which  bristle  with  references  to  the  "re- 
searches" of  alienists  and  other  men  of  medical  science,  that 
these  celebrities  might,  like  Dr.  Bertry,  be  maniacs  or  charlatans. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  is  serenely  confident  that  the  Parnassians, 
the  naturalists,  the  symbolists,  the  mystics,  the  individualists, 
the  Wagnerians,  etc.,  are  all  degenerate  imbeciles. 

^  Cf.  Leon  Daudet's  novel,  Les  Morlicoles,  pt.  i,  ch.  ii:  "Qu'est- 
ce  que  ga  peut  faire  qu'un  particulier  creve,  si  son  observation 
dclaire  im  apergu  nouveau?"    The  medical  student  who  attends 
IS 


226       Brieux  and  French  Society 

atheist,  he  is  all  but  converted  by  the  simple  faith 
of  one  of  the  victims  of  his  experiments,  a  girl 
who  owes  a  previous  cure  to  water  from  Lourdes.  ^ 
But  Dr.  Donnat,  unlike  Dr.  Bertr}^,  is  sincere.^ 
Having  inoculated  himself  with  his  serum  as  an 
experiment,  he  dies  a  voluntary  martyr  to  his 
conviction.  He  has  a  generous  heart  and  a 
great  intellect;  but  because  scientific  arrogance 
has  led  his  intelligence  astray,  he  has  lav- 
ished all  the  warmth  of  his  belief  upon  an  idol; 
and  the  worship  of  this  idol  has  so  darkened  his 
reason  that  he  confuses  virtue  and  crime.  ^  No 
wonder  Brunetiere  should  ask  if  we  have  attacked 


le  phe  Goriot  in  his  agony  regards  him  merely  as  a  scientific 
specimen.  It  is  particularly  in  La  Messe  de  l' A  thee  that  Balzac 
treats  the  conflict  between  science  and  religion.  The  intoxica- 
tion caused  by  science  he  stresses  in  La  Recherche  de  VAhsolu. 

^  This  situation  has  been  called  "le  dernier  coup  portd  a  Tor- 
gueil  de  I'intellectuel,  du  savant  infatu^  de  ses  connaissances." 
R.  Le  Brun,  F.  de  Curel,  p.  36. 

"Compare,  however,  his  wife's  reproaches:  "This  girl  was 
killed  for  your  fame,  in  order  that  your  statue  might  be  paid  for 
thirty  years  hence  by  philanthropists;  in  order  that  one  of  the 
names  under  the  cupola  of  the  Institute  might  be  scratched  off 
and  replaced  by  yours." 

3  F.  Veuillot,  Les  Predicateurs  de  la  Scene,  p.  250.  From 
a  literary  point  of  view,  Lavedan's  Le  Duel  (1905)  is  a  greater 
drama  than  La  Nouvelle  Idole,  but  it  does  not  emphasize  the 
point  implied  in  the  title  of  Curel's  play.  Hardouin,  the  doctor 
in  Le  Bluff  (1907),  a  drama  by  G.  Thumer,  has  discovered  a 
serum.  Although  doubting  its  efficacy,  he  endeavours  to  establish 
its  reputation  until,  finally,  his  conscience  revolts.  In  theme 
Thurner's  play  thus  resembles  both  La  Nouvelle  Idole  and  Paul 
Adam's  Les  Mouettes. 


Literature  and  Science  227 

so  frequently  religious  superstition  only  to  adopt 
another  in  its  stead/ 

A  more  caustic  satire  on  the  medical  profession 
had  been  presented  earlier  by  Leon  Daudet  in 
Les  Morticoles  {The  Morticoles,  1894).  The  coun- 
try of  the  Morticoles  is  an  imaginary  island,  such 
as  Lemuel  Gulliver  might  have  chanced  on,  where 
the  medical  hierarchy,  headed  by  Dr.  Crudanet, 
the  grand -master  and  high -priest,  is  in  control  of 
everything.  The  Morticoles  are  maniacs  and 
hypochondriacs  who  have  given  absolute  pre- 
eminence to  the  doctors.  Their  faculty  of  medi- 
cine is  at  the  same  time  a  parliament  and  a  court 
of  justice.  The  only  monuments  are  hospitals, 
in  which  everybody  takes  treatment.  Cynical,  ma- 
terialistic, and  atheistic,  these  Morticole  doctors 
treat  their  patients  like  beasts  of  slaughter.^ 
They  have  ''opened  too  many  bellies,  removed 
too  many  brains,  not  to  know  that  the  soul, 
God,  and  immortality  are  fictions.**  ^  It  was  quite 
unnecessary  for  Daudet  to  tell  us  that  the  medical 
school  and  public  monuments  bear  the  inscription, 
LIBERTY,  EQUALITY,  FRATERNITY,  for  before  read- 
ing half  a  dozen  pages,  we  know  what  country  is 
meant. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Daudet  satirized  the 

^  In  Suzanne  (1896),  Leon  Daudet  again  takes  science  to 
task. 

*  Broussais  (1772-1838),  the  founder  of  medical  cynicism, 
used  to  say:  "I  have  dissected  many  brains,  but  I  have  never 
found  a  soul."  Cf.  E,  M.  Caro,  Le  Materialisme  et  la  Science 
(1868),  p.  63. 


228       Brieux  and  French  Society 

medical  profession  because  the  School  of  Medicine 
refused  to  give  him  the  Doctor's  degree.^  But 
Theodore  de  Wyzewa  seems  to  suggest  a  different 
explanation.  Asserting  that  medicine  and  doctors 
are  here  treated  from  precisely  the  same  stand- 
point as  in  The  Kreutzer  Sonata,  he  says:  "I 
have  not  yet  read  a  novel  so  decidedly  Tolstoyan 
as  Les  Morticolesy  ^ 

In  Le  Mai  Necessaire  {The  Necessary  Evily  1899), 
Andre  Couvreur  studies  the  career  of  a  famous 
surgeon  named  Caresco — the  son  of  an  Austrian 
Jew — who,  having  established  a  clinic  in  Paris, 
has  embraced  Catholicism  and  steadily  risen  in 
his  profession  till  he  is  an  international  celebrity. 
Despite  the  hostility  of  the  Paris  Medical  Faculty 
and  of  most  surgeons  at  the  hospitals,  Caresco  is 
continually  mentioned  in  the  papers.  His  opera- 
tions attract  doctors  from  all  over  the  world,  and 
he  is  admired  by  young  practitioners  and  the 
rates.  With  a  mania  for  operating  and  with  a 
cynical  contempt  for  human  life,  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  apply  the  knife  to  all  who  consult 
him,  especially  when  in  need  of  money  for  his 
mistress.  ^ 

'  J.  Reinach,  The  Athenceum,  July  4,  1896.  It  Is  also  said 
that  Malauve,  the  egotist  so  superbly  satirized  by  Daudet  in 
UAstre  Noir  (1894),  was  no  other  than  Victor  Hugo. 

"^  Rrj.  Bleue,  June  17,  1894.  Catulle  Mendes  calls  Les  Morti- 
coles  "un  puissant,  violent,  epars  et  rudoyer  roman."  VArl 
au  Tliedtre,  ii,  165. 

3  To  quote  Bernard  Shaw  again:  "It  is  simply  unscientific 
to  allege  or  believe  that  doctors  do  not  .  .  .  perform  unnecessary 


Literature  and  Science  229 

Couvreur  might  to  advantage  have  made  his 
own  opinions  clearer.  Apparently  he  thinks  that 
surgical  skill  is  likely  to  be  acquired  at  the  expense 
of  both  human  feeling  and  sincerity.  This  un- 
fortunate fact,  we  must  infer  from  the  title,  is 
the  "necessary  evil."  One  of  the  characters  in 
the  story  says  of  Caresco's  work:  "It  is  horrible, 
but  good  has  its  source  in  evil."  Caresco's  assist- 
ant, indignant  at  his  cynical  suppression  of  life 
by  operations  producing  sterility,  abandons 
him.  Dr.  Domesta,  an  Italian  charlatan  in 
Couvreur's  La  Graine  (1903),  who  claims  to  produce 
artificial  fecundation  just  as  Caresco  produces 
sterility,  calls  him  "a  remarkable  man  but  a 
charlatan."^  And  the  author  himself,  speaking 
impersonally,  characterizes  him  as  "the  sublime 
butcher,  who  repaired  and  destroyed  with  equal 
skill."  ^ 

These  dramas  and  novels  will  suffice  to  give 
an  idea  of  the  attitude  of  recent  French  authors 
toward  science,  at  least  as  manifested  in  medicine.  ^ 

operations  and  manufacture  lucrative  illness."  {The  Doctor's 
Dilemma.)  Dr.  Rappas,  one  of  Gyp's  characters,  charges  only 
J5,ooo  francs  for  an  operation.     Ces  Bons  Docteurs,  p.  244. 

^  La  Graine,  p.  120.  Couvreur's  charlatans  are  foreigners, 
a  precaution  that  Brieux  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  take. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  424.  Andre  Couvreur  is  a  disciple  of  Zola,  whose 
theories  of  heredity  he  largely  shares.  In  La  Graine,  he  speaks 
of  "I'immensit^  de  la  route  atavique." 

^  Usually  a  sympathetic  doctor  is  present  as  a  counterpart. 
Aijiong  such  models  are  Dr.  Bouret  {La  Graine),  Dr.  Riquenne 
(Nous,  les  Meres),  Dr.  Kervel  {Les  Mouettes,  by  Paul  Adam), 
Dr.  Tr^sal  {Un  Medecin  de  Campagne,  by  H.  Bordeaux). 


230       Brieux  and  French  Society 

A  Bertry,  a  Donnat,  or  a  Caresco,  however  mis- 
taken or  insincere,  can  protest  nevertheless  in  his 
justification  that  all  he  does  is  for  the  triumph 
and  glory  of  science.^  Thus  a  parody  of  the 
memorable  words  of  Madame  Roland  might  read: 
"0  Science,  what  crimes  are  committed  in  thy 
name!"  The  extravagant  claims  of  perfectly  sin- 
cere scientists  after  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  the  deep  disappointment  when 
scientific  hopes  failed  of  realization,  have  produced 
the  natural  reaction.  And  so  in  recent  French 
literature,  even  beneficent  scientific  works  have 
been  decried,  and  humiliation  has  been  the  lot 
of  the  exponents  of  science,  particularly  doctors.  =* 
Taimted,  ridiculed,  they  suffer  from  the  discredit 
of  their  "new  idol."  This  reaction,  as  Alfred 
Fouillee  has  pointed  out,^  is  the  logical  conse- 
quence of  the  arrogance  of  certain  impatient 
scientists  who,  in  the  ardour  of  promising  investiga- 
tions, think  that  they  have  discovered  the  secret 
of  the  universe.  Perhaps  the  reaction  has  not 
yet  gone  too  far,  nor  even  far  enough.  There  are 
those  who  maintain  that  the  whole  world  today 
— America  as  well  as  other  countries — is  still 
science-ridden.  But,  as  Professor  Albert  Schinz 
has  recently  shown,  "*  in  discussing  the  renewal  of 

^  A.  Capus  remarks  that  one  of  the  surprising  characteristics 
of  our  time  is  that  assassination,  theft,  treason  are  committed 
in  the  name  of  a  principle. 

"  Pasteur  carried  on  "Homeric  struggles"  against  doctors. 

3  Le  Mouvement  Idcaliste,  p.  xxxi. 

^  Amer.  Journal  of  Psychol.,  June,  1916. 


Literature  and  Science  231 

French  thought  on  the  eve  of  the  European  war, 
there  is  abundant  evidence  that,  in  France  at 
least,  the  tide  has  definitely  turned.  Indeed, 
French  "traditionaHsts,"  by  the  irony  of  fate, 
now  defend  science  as  an  ancient  heritage.  Ac- 
cording to  Paul  Bourget,  who  after  maintaining 
that  its  possibilities  exceeded  the  boldest  hopes  of 
man,  later  declared  in  his  disappointment  that 
it  could  never  explain  the  universe  or  solve  the 
mystery  of  life — according  to  Bourget,  not  the 
Renans,  the  Taines,  the  Zolas,  are  the  true  ex- 
ponents of  science,  but  those  who  would  confine 
it  within  its  legitimate  domain.  For  such  there 
is  no  danger  of  being  too  scientific  but  rather 
of  not  being  scientific  enough,  ^ 

The  ^'legitimate  domain"  of  science!  Just  there 
is  the  vital  question.  And  Bourget,  no  more  than 
other  French  thinkers,  claims  to  have  solved  it. 
Only  recently  he  wrote: 

Is  there  but  one  alternative  left  for  us  then — 
namely,  that  we  must  conceive  life  either  mechanically 
or  mystically;  sacrifice  either  science  or  faith,  either 
logical  deduction  or  belief?  When  we  try  to  form  a 
synthetic  estimate  of  the  movement  of  French  thought 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  we  see  that  its 
whole  effort,  which  was  often  obscure,  at  times  mis- 
guided, but  ever  painful,  has  consisted  in  the  passion- 
ate quest  of  a  via  media  between  these  two  extremes. ' 

*  Pages  de  Crit.,  ii,  195. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  312. 


232       Brieux  and  French  Society 

After  all,  such  a  middle  path  is  not  impossible, 
despite  certain  apparently  insurmountable  ob- 
stacles. One  thing,  however,  is  certain:  no  un- 
derstanding is  possible  unless  the  over-confident 
spokesmen  of  science  lay  aside  their  arrogance 
and  cease  to  regard  the  question  from  the  per- 
spective of  their  narrow  domain.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  return  to  sanity  and  modesty;  if  they 
renounce  the  pose  of  infallibility  of  a  Bertry, 
the  fanatical  cult  of  a  Donnat,  and  the  despotic 
tyranny  of  a  Crudanet,  there  will  be  scant  cause 
for  the  satire  of  a  Brieux,  a  Curel,  or  a  Daudet. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MARRIAGE  AND   THE  DOWRY 

Les  Trots  Filles  de  M.  Dup07tt  (Brieux) — 
Le  Prisme  (Margueritte) — Le  Sang  Nouveau  (Lich- 
tenberger).^ 

BRIEUX' S  next  play  after  V Evasion  is  Les  Trois 
Filles  de  M.  Dupont,  his  discussion  of  the  dowry 
in  French  marriages.  With  it  we  come  to  what 
has  been  called  the  second  period  of  his  work,  the 
plays  of  which  are  characterized  on  the  whole  by 
a  more  militant  seriousness  than  those  he  wrote 
earlier.  While  the  distinction  may  be  insisted  on 
too  much,  it  is  true  that  the  comic  realist  of 
Blanchette^  the  playful  humorist  of  VEngrenage^ 
the  ironical  satirist  of  Les  Bienfaiteurs  and  V Eva- 
sion, strikes  now — and  in  the  seven  plays  following 
Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Diipont  in  the  main  sustains 
— a  note  of  deep  earnestness.  His  concern  for  the 
social  evils  under  consideration  is  now  so  grave 
as  to  be  almost  pessimistic.  Whether  his  anxiety 
be  justified  generally,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
question  of  the  dowry  has  long  been  causing  un- 

^  "Le  bien  d'autrui  tu  ne  prendras 
Qu'en  mariage  seulement." 

Pierre  Vj&ber. 

233 


234       Brieux  and  French  Society 

easiness  to  the  more  thoughtful  students  of  French 
social  conditions. 

Marriage  for  money  [says  Augusta  Forel]  is  the 
modern  form,  or  derivative,  of  marriage  by  purchase. 
Formerly  one  bought  a  wife  and  sold  a  daughter; 
today  one  is  sold  to  a  wife  and  buys  a  son-in-law.  The 
improvement  consists  in  the  fact  that  the  buyer 
and  the  bought  are  no  longer  in  the  positions  of  pro- 
prietor and  object  possessed.  Nevertheless,  marriage 
at  the  present  day  gives  rise  to  much  traffic,  specula- 
V  tion,  and  exploitation  that  are  evil.^ 

The  date  of  Mammon's  accession  in  the  various 
countries  is  never  recorded  exactly;  but  it  may 
be  placed  in  France  soon  after  the  Revolution. 
Under  the  Old  Regime,  the  power  of  money  had 
been  held  in  check  by  such  influences  as  the  pre- 
eminence and  privileges  of  the  priesthood,  the 
prestige  of  the  military  profession,  the  titular 
dignity  of  the  nobility,  and  court  distinction.^ 
But  as  a  result  of  the  Revolution,  with  its  efforts 
to  establish  theoretical  equality,  these  counter- 
poises have  almost  disappeared,  and  meanwhile 
money  has  been  mounting  irresistibly  to  the 
summit  of  the  social  organism.  ^ 

^  The  Sexual  Question,  p.  295.  Cf.  Bernjard  Shaw:  "As  the 
,  economic  dependence  of  woman  makes  marriage  a  money  bar- 
gain in  which  the  man  is  the  purchaser  and  the  woman  the  pur- 
chased, there  is  no  essential  difference  between  a  married  woman 
and  the  woman  of  the  streets."     Getting  Married. 

^  E.  M.  de  Vogiie,  Hcures  d'Hist.,  p.  331. 

3  J,  (^u  Tillet  writes :     ' '  Dans  une  democratic  anarchique  comme 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry         235 

Though  a  multitude  of  parvenus  sprang  up 
under  the  Empire,  who  owed  their  wealth  to  the 
free-for-all  scramble  following  the  upheaval  of 
1789,  it  was  particularly  under  the  July  Mon-  n^ 
archy,  which  promoted  the  interests  of  the  bour- 
geoisie, that  new  wealth  developed  a  new  field  for 
satire.  Writers  of  the  time  were  not  long  in 
realizing  their  opportunity.  Money  with  its 
power  forms  the  backbone  of  Balzac's  works. 
It  plays  an  important  part  with  Scribe.^  Pon- 
sard^  and  Barriered  give  it  serious  thought. 
Sandeau,  Augier,  Dumas  fils^  and  Becque  con- 
tinued to  treat  the  question ;  and  subsequently  it 
has  been  taken  up  by  such  dramatists  as  Mirbeau, 
Brieux,  Emile  Fabre,  and  Lucien  Gleize. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  aspects  of  the 
question:  finance  proper,  crooked  speculation, 
bribery,  the  arrogance  of  the  parvenu,  luxury, 
fashionable  prostitution,  the  dot,  etc.  Balzac 
covered  about  every  conceivable  phase  of  the 
subject.  One  important  aspect  of  it  has  always 
been  the  dowry,  which  Augier — who  ranks  next 

est  la  n6tre,  le  pouvoir  n'est  qu'une  fonction  qui  dure  quelques 
semaines,  la  gloire  est  viagere  et  en  butte  a  toutes  les  jalousies; 
Targent  est  la  seule  *  distinction '  evidente,  indiscutable,  comme  il 
est  la  seule  puissance  souveraine.  .  .  .  Ce  que  le  'petit  prince'  et 
le  'marquis  '  du  bon  la  Fontaine  veulent  avoir  aujourd'hui,  ce 
n'est  plus  des  ' ambassadeurs '  ou  des  'pages,*  c'est  de  I'argent 
encore  et  tou jours  de  I'argent." 

*  Cf.  Le  Manage  d' Argent,  Le  Puff. 

^  VHonneur  et  V Argent,  La  Bourse. 

'  Les  Faux  Bonshommes. 


236       Brieux  and  French  Society 

to  Balzac  in  comprehensive  treatment  of  the 
whole  subject^ — considered  very  significantly  in 
Ceintiire  Doree  in  1855.  B}^  making  the  heroine 
of  his  drama  find  that  her  princely  dot,  instead 
of  insuring  her  happiness,  is  an  insurmountable 
obstacle  to  marriage  with  the  only  suitor  she  es- 
teems, Augier  attacked  the  generally  accepted 
theory  that  the  dot  was  always  necessary.  Two 
years  later,  Dumas,  in  La  Question  d' Argent^  like 
Augier,  emphasized  the  dignity  of  marriage  with- 
out a  dowry.  But  all  efforts  were  powerless  to 
check  the  coureurs  de  dot  under  the  Second  Empire. 
And  so  the  successors  of  Augier  and  Dumas,  even 
down  to  the  present,  have  inherited  the  problem. 
The  two  most  noteworthy  contributions  to  the 
subject  in  recent  years  are  Brieux's  drama  and 
Le  Prisme,  a  novel  by  Paul  and  Victor  Margueritte. 
An  interesting  supplement  to  them  is  Le  Sang 
Nouveau,  sl  novel  by  Andre  Lichtenberger,  which 
notes  the  latest  evolution  of  the  question  of  the 
dot  recorded  in  French  literature. 

Les  Trois  Filles  de  M,  Dupont  {The  Three 
Daughters  of  M,  Dupont^  1897),  in  four  acts,  is 
doubly  important — for  its  theme,  and  also  because, 
as  we  have  seen,  it  marks  the  beginning  of  a  period 
of  greater  seriousness  with  Brieux.  The  play 
opens  at  the  house  of  M.  Dupont,  the  proprietor 
of  a  modest  printing  establishment  in  a  provincial 

*  Of. :  Le  Gendre  de  M.  Polrier,  La  Pierre  de  Touche,  Les  Lionnes 
Pauvres,  La  Jeiinesse,  Les  Effrontes,  Maitre  Guerin,  La  ContagioHf 
Liofis  ct  Renards, 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry         2:^"] 

city.  His  "three  daughters"  are  Angele,  a 
courtesan  of  thirty-five  living  in  Paris,  but  said 
by  her  father  to  be  with  her  aunt  in  the  Indies; 
Caroline,  two  years  younger,  a  tall,  ungainly 
spinster  (like  Angele,  a  child  by  Dupont's  first 
wife);  and  Julie,  twenty-four,  a  daughter  by  his 
present  wife.  Caroline  earns  her  living  by  paint- 
ing porcelain  for  local  merchants.  Dupont, 
who  cannot  forgive  her  for  "remaining  on  his 
hands"  instead  of  marrying  when  she  had  a 
chance,^  calls  her  ^^ cette  grande  bete  de  Caroline,''^ 
because  of  her  quiet,  stubborn,  religious  narrow- 
ness. Julie,  on  the  contrary,  is  full  of  life,  out- 
spoken, a  lover  of  children,  and  naturally  not 
averse  to  matrimony.  But  upon  hearing  that  a 
young  man  whom  she  has  "had  in  view"  is  soon 
to  be  married,  she  realizes  that  her  own  matri- 
monial chances  are  not  bright. 

Unexpectedly,  however,  she  is  sought  b}^  Mai- 
raut,  a  local  banker,  for  his  son,  Antonin,  thanks  to 
Dupont's  clever  diplomacy.  Pending  the  call  of 
M.  and  Mme.  Mairaut  to  present  the  formal  suit, 
Dupont  tells  his  family  the  good  news.  Antonin's 
rich  bachelor  uncle,  Marechal,  the  Prefect's 
assistant,  will  of  course  leave  his  wealth  to  his 
nephew,  and  the  marriage  will  bring  Dupont  the 

^  "Because  a  bourgeois  girl  cannot  earn  ten  cents  a  day," 
says  Emile  Faguet,  "she  has  no  career  but  marriage  open  to  her. 
Consequently  she  is  virtually  forced  to  accept  the  first  suitor 
her  family  presents,  terrorized  as  she  is  by  the  kind  of  life  she 
will  have  at  home  if  she  refuses  the  suitor."  Horreur  des  Re- 
sponsahilites,  p.  iii. 


238       Brieux  and  French  Society 

printing  trade  of  the  Prefecture.  While  hastily 
putting  the  parlour  in  order, '  he  gives  Julie  fifteen 
minutes  to  make  up  her  mind. 

Although  Julie  has  danced  with  young  Mairaut, 
she  is  scarcely  acquainted  with  him.  But  her 
father  meets  her  objection  that  she  only  half  likes 
Antonin  by  saying  that  in  matters  of  love,  halfway 
is  sufficient.  Unhappy  marriages  most  often 
result  from  love  matches.^  Husbands  are  like 
regular  commodities:  when  you  get  a  good  article, 
you've  got  to  pay  the  price.  ^  Mme.  Dupont 
having  seconded  her  husband's  argument,  Julie 
accepts  Antonin. 

There  is  effective  cynical  comedy  in  the  dis- 
cussion between  Dupont  and  Mme.  Mairaut — 
the  master  mind  of  her  household — over  Julie's 
dowry.  Mme.  Mairaut  knows  what  Dupont  does 
not  suspect,  that  her  brother,  Marechal,  has 
lost  his  money  in  the  Panama  bubble.     Also  she 

^  Several  scenes  recall  Labiche's  La  Poudre  aux  Yeux,  but 
Bricux's  vigorous  presentation  of  the  subject  gives  it  deep  seri- 
ousness. "The  necessity  of  appearing  rich,"  declares  Hugues 
Le  Roux,  "is  never  so  indispensable  as  at  the  moment  parents 
endeavour  to  marry  off  their  daughters."  {Nos  Filles.)  CJ, 
Zola's  Pot-Bouille. 

^  PosdnichefT,  Tolstoy's  spokesman,  asserts  that  love — real 
love — does  not  consecrate  marriage,  but  destroys  it.  Kreutzer 
Sonata,  ch.  ii. 

3  Becque's  notary  says  to  Mme.  Vigneron:  "You  must  be 
aware  that  love  does  not  exist — for  my  part,  I  have  never  met 
it.  There  are  only  business  matters  in  this  world.  Marriage 
is  a  business  matter  like  the  rest.  ...  If  without  dowries,  le^ 
jeunes  filles  restent  .  .  .  jeunes  filles."     Les  Corbeaux,  iv,  6. 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry         239 

knows  perfectly  well  about  Angele  Dupont's 
profession.  By  exploiting  this,  she  compels  Du- 
pont  to  add  to  Julie's  dowry  (25,000  francs  down 
and  25,000  to  be  paid  later)  five  thousand  francs 
and  a  country  house.  The  two  young  people, 
whose  dispositions,  tastes,  and  accomplishments 
have  been  greatly  misrepresented,  are  now  given 
a  few  minutes  to  become  acquainted  and  approve 
the  negotiations.  Needless  to  say,  the  points 
at  issue  in  the  contract  are  settled — each  side 
pretending  to  make  concessions — to  the  satis- 
faction of  all  except  Caroline,  who  is  heartbroken 
upon  learning  her  sister's  engagement,  but  conceals 
her  grief.  ^ 

In  Act  II,  Antonin  and  Julie,  who  have  been 
married  about  six  months,  are  occupying  their 
country  house.  Antonin's  mother,  greatly  dis- 
appointed in  both  Julie  and  the  house,  lays  the 
blame  for  the  marriage  upon  her  husband.  Du- 
pont,  naturally,  is  furious  over  the  deception 
about  Marechal's  money.  Antonin  is  vexed  be- 
cause Julie  likes  to  read,  whereas  he  desires  only 
a  housekeeper.^  Julie,  also  unhappy,  hopes  for 
consolation  in  her  children.     Neither  understands 

'  Our  summary  is  necessarily  unsatisfactory,  for,  as  Sarcey 
has  said:  "Cette  exposition  est  toute  en  details,  dont  un  r^cit 
succinct  ne  saurait  donner  aucune  idee." 

^  Emile  Faguet  observes:  "The  French  bourgeoisie  have  a 
cult  for  ignorance.  They  do  not  read.  They  have  contempt  for 
the  savant,  the  man  of  letters,  and  the  artist.  They  are  quite 
indifferent  to  the  scientific,  literary,  and  artistic  fame  of  France." 
Horreur  des  Responsabililcs,  p.  io8. 


240       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  other.  In  a  quarrel,  the  young  wife  says  to 
Antonin:  "I  am  not  complaining  about  the  laws, 
I  blame  French  manners.  The  cause  of  our  trouble 
is  not  this  or  that  article  of  the  Code ;  it  is  the  way 
we  were  married."^  She  realizes  that,  though 
neither  loves  the  other,  they  are  chained  together 
irrevocably.''  What  is  more,  Antonin  makes  her 
understand  that  he  is  to  be  her  master.  ^ 

In  the  third  act,  new  interests  develop  in  an 
inheritance  of  Caroline's  and  the  return  of  Angele. 

^  "In  France,"  Helene  Dugast  remarks  to  her  parents,  "people 
marry  only  for  money.  If  a  girl  has  no  dowry,  she  cannot  find  a 
husband."  She  refuses  to  marry  the  suitor  her  parents  have 
chosen  for  her — though  she  does  not  dislike  him — because  she 
wants  to  know  the  man .  she  marries.  She  berates  French  man- 
ners, which  make  it  impossible  for  a  girl  to  know  a  young  man 
intimately  without  being  ostracized.  Helene 's  mother,  amazed 
at  this  new  spirit,  tells  her  that  she  and  M.  Dugast  had  only  two 
interviews  before  their  marriage;  that  in  her  time  a  girl  abided 
by  the  choice  of  her  parents.  P.  and  V.  Margueritte,  Femmes 
Nouvelles,  pt.  i,  ch.  iv. 

^  In  Les  Tenailles  (iii,  8),  Paul  Hervieu's  heroine  says  to 
her  husband:  "We  are  chained  to  the  same  ball."  Various 
other  passages  in  Les  Trois  Filles  recall  Hervieu's  play.  The  re- 
semblance to  his  La  Lot  de  rilomme,  however,  is  only  general, 
for  Julie  has  just  said  that  she  blames  French  manners,  not 
the  Code. 

3  In  the  France  of  today,  a  woman's  influence  and  the  im- 
portance of  her  domestic  role  are  in  inverse  proportion  to  her 
social  station.  Among  the  peasantry  and  the  labouring  class,  her 
influence  is  paramount:  a  farm  prospers  in  proportion  to  the 
wife's  ability.  But  the  higher  the  social  plane,  the  more  restricted 
her  influence  becomes.  What  she  gains  in  social  brilliancy,  she 
loses  in  domestic  prestige.  In  the  average  bourgeois  family,  she 
may  be  called  her  husband's  associate,  whereas  among  the  higher 
classes  she  is  only  a  companion,  occasionally  an  adviser.  CJ. 
A.  Capus,  Mceurs  du  Temps,  i,  92. 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry         241 

Dupont's  sister  having  left  thirty  thousand 
francs  to  Angcle  and  Caroline  each,  their  father 
seeks  Caroline's  share  to  renew  his  antiquated 
printing  machinery.  He  hints,  coaxes,  and  threat- 
ens; he  beats  about  the  bush,  sheds  tears,  and 
appeals  to  Caroline's  filial  affection.  Antonin, 
also,  though  hitherto  grossly  insulting  to  Caroline, 
now  tries  to  obtain  a  loan  from  her,  to  ward  off 
bankruptcy.  But  she  lends  half  of  her  money  to 
Courthezon,  her  father's  employe,  in  the  hope  that 
he  may  marry  her,'  and  promises  the  rest  to  her 
father. 

Angele  arrives,  in  order  to  give  her  legal  signature 
in  the  interest  of  Caroline,  though  Dupont  makes 
Caroline  believe  that  Angcle  needs  her  signature; 
otherwise  Carohne  would  refuse  to  see  her. 
Angele's  quiet  self-assurance  makes  Dupont 
forget  the  solemn,  admonitory  speech  that  he  has 
rehearsed  for  a  fortnight  for  her  reception. 

The  old  troubles,  meanwhile,  are  far  from 
ceasing.  A  new  storm  bursts  forth  between  Mme. 
Mairaut  and  Dupont  when,  requested  by  her  to 
pay  the  second  half  of  Julie's  dowry,  he  writes 
her  an  ironical  order  for  the  amount  on  the  Mare- 
chal  succession.  Worse  yet,  this  quarrel  widens 
the  breach  between  the  young  couple,  which  at- 
tains its  climax  when  Antonin  says  to  Julie  that 
they  shall  never  have  any  children  because  he 
does  not  want  any. 

*  But  Caroline's  hopes  are  shattered  when  she  learns  that 
Courthezon  has  two  children  by  a  married  woman. 
16 


242       Brieux  and  French  Society 

In  the  last  act,  AngMe  comes  back  with  Caroline 
from  the  notary's  and  the  "three  daughters" 
engage  in  a  cheerless  conversation.  Julie  wants 
to  leave  Antonin  and  work  for  her  living;  but 
Caroline,  recalling  her  own  bitter  experience  in 
disposing  of  her  porcelain-painting,  entreats  her 
to  return  to  her  husband.  Then  Julie  declares 
that,  if  obliged  to  submit  to  the  brutality  of  a 
lover,  she  would  prefer  one  of  her  choosing;  but 
Angele,  speaking  from  her  experience,  disillusions 
Julie  about  the  life  of  a  courtesan.  Caroline  now 
understands  Angele  and  embraces  her;  she  feels 
that  her  own  faith  has  been  selfish  and  narrow, 
that  in  seeking  consolation  in  religion  for  her  need 
for  affection,  she  has  found  in  the  end  only  une 
deception  et  une  rancoeur  de  plus.^  Julie  under- 
stands better  her  differences  with  Antonin,  so 
that,  when  he  and  his  father  come  to  attempt  a 
reconciliation,  she  promises  to  be  reasonable. 
She  returns  to  her  husband,  but  with  the  inten- 
tion, despite  Angele' s  advice,  of  taking  a  lover.  ^ 

^  In  Le  Lys  (1908),  P.  Wolff  and  G.  Leroux  liken  to  lilies 
bourgeois  girls  without  a  dowry  who,  having  begun  to  age  and 
abandoned  hope  of  marriage,  conceal  their  despair  in  their  hearts 
with  a  white  veil.  One  of  their  "lilies"  of  Caroline-Dupont's 
age,  however,  in  her  revolt  against  the  bourgeois  dot-mania, 
approves  her  younger  sister's  intention  of  living  in  free  love: 
"Va,  Christine,  va  vers    la  vie,  vers    Tamour.     J'ai  pay^  ta 


rangon 


3  Brieux  may  have  obtained  his  plot  in  part  from  Balzac's 

'    Le  Faiseur.     Mercadet,  in  financial  straits,  wants  his  daughter, 

Julie,  to  marry  M.  de  la  Brive,  whom  he  thinks  rich,  that  the 

titled  son-in-law  may  save  him  from  ruin.     M.  de  la  Brive,  who 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry         243 

Such  is  Les  Trots  Filles  de  M.  Dupont,  a  play 
which,  according  to  Jules  Lemaitre,  begins  as  a 
vaudeville,  continues  as  a  drama,  and  ends  in 
an  apocalyptic  lamentation.^  The  variety  of  im- 
pression which  it  produced  on  this  one  critic  is 
suggestive  of  the  varied  impression  it  has  made 
on  critics  in  general.  Not  a  few  have  objected 
to  a  certain  duality  in  the  play.  That  is,  it  ends 
with  a  tone  of  feminism  which  nobody  in  the  first 
act,  or  even  in  the  second,  would  fancy  was  going 
to  be  important.  A.  Benoist  and  F.  Veuillot 
both  think  that  reality  is  marred  by  pessimism: 
the  one  by  Brieux's  presentation  of  the  ''three 
daughters''  as  representative  of  the  bourgeois 
family^;  the  other,  by  his  treatment  of  Julie's 
marriage.^  Such  a  marriage  may  be  true  in  a 
particular  case,  but  it  is  false  when  presented  as 
typical  of  the  lower  bourgeoisie.  Then  those 
authors  who  stand  for  "le  traditionalisme,  le 
culte  social  de  I'ordre,  de  la  famille  et  de  la 
richesse,"  disagree  with  Brieux's  ideas.  Such  are 
Paul  Bourget,  Rene  Bazin,  Henry  Bordeaux,  and 
(recently)  Paul  Adam.  Adam  declares  that  the 
cult  of  love  and  individualism  is  killing  the  French 
nation.  ^    Various  authors  from  Moliere  to  George 

is  penniless,  seeks  Julie's  hand  because  he  thinks  that  she  has  a 
big  dowry.  Julie  Mercadet,  like  Brieux's  heroine,  is  said  to  be 
romantic  and  a  talented  musician;  her  suitor,  like  Antonin 
Mairaut,  professes  to  adore  music. 

» Impressions,  x,  288.  ^  Thedtre  d*Auj.,  i,  241. 

^  Predicateurs  de  la  Scene,  p.  89. 

4  Le  Matin,  May  21, 1913. 


244       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Sand  he  accuses  of  undoing  all  the  good  work  of 
Roman  and  French  jurisconsults  to  assure  the 
moral  and  material  welfare  of  the  family.  He 
regards  neither  love  nor  any  sort  of  "frivolous 
sentimentalism"  as  an  adequate  basis  for  mar- 
riage. Marriage  is  only  a  social  institution  for  the 
benefit  of  the  race,  in  which  the  likes  and  dislikes 
of  the  indis^idual  count  for  nothing.^ 

From  this  opinion  Gustave  Lanson  entirely 
dissents.  He  defends  Moliere,  who,  he  avers, 
represents  ^^V esprit  bourgeois  et  frangais/*^  a 
spirit  which  appears  also  in  Brieux.  In  fact  the 
reconciliation  of  the  young  couple  in  Les  Trois 
Filles  has  met  with  general  favour,  critics  appar- 
ently not  taking  seriously  Julie's  threat  to  console 
herself  with  a  lover.  And  plenty  of  them  have 
found  the  reality  of  the  play  unspoiled  by  either 
feminism  or  pessimism.  J.  du  Tillet  ^  and  Hugues 
Le  Roux  not  only  approve  the  ending,  but  accept 
the  entire  last  act  as  natural.  Le  Roux  asserts 
that  in  France  a  father  does  not  succeed  in  dis- 
posing of  his  daughter  unless  he  adds  a  sum  of 
money  to  the  merit  she  may  otherwise  possess. 
Money,  he  declares,  has  become  the  very  substance 
of  marriage;  the  dot,  which  was  originally  in- 
tended as  a  means  of  facilitating  the  union,  is  now 
regarded  by  the  majority  of  men  as  the  object 
of  the  conjugal  institution.^    Finally,  Claire  de 

*  G.  Chatterton-Hill,  Edinb.  Rev.,  Jan.,  1914. 

^  Le  Matin,  May  28,  1913.  ^  Rev.  Bleue,  Oct.  16,  1897. 

4  Nos  Filles,  p.  20. 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry         245 

Pratz  calls  Les  Trois  Filles  one  of  the  masterpieces 
of  modern  times. ' 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  try  to  decide  the  merits 
of  the  case.  I  hope  I  have  made  clear  by  this 
time  that  my  purpose  is  to  set  forth  the  opinions 
of  Brieux  and  his  contemporaries,  both  creative 
and  critical,  rather  than  to  record  opinions  of 
my  own.  If  I  had,  however,  to  express  an  opinion 
on  Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Dupont,  I  should  incline 
to  the  side  of  those  who  praise  it.  With  Moliere  it 
sufficed  for  a  young  suitor  to  be  physically  attrac- 
tive. The  naive  love  of  the  girls  of  former  times 
was  virtually  pure  instinct,  never  an  act  of  reflec- 
tion. ^  But  conditions  have  changed.  With  her 
education,  the  modern  girl  will  hear  nothing  of  a 
master;  she  wants  a  companion. ^    Julie  Dupont 

^  ",Brieux  and  his  Works,"  Contemp.  Rev.,  Mar.,  1902.  Else- 
where this  critic  presents  the  dot  in  a  more  favourable  light  than 
Brieux.  "The  very  basis  of  marriage  in  France,"  she  declares, 
"is  reason.  And  it  is  usually  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the 
two  contracting  parties  who  bring  them  together  with  matri- 
monial intentions.  Now  the  friends  and  relatives  who  set 
about  this,  consider,  first  of  all,  the  tastes  and  inclinations, 
religious  and  otherwise,  of  the  two  candidates  for  matrimony, 
as  well  as  their  financial  and  social  positions."  France  from 
Within,  p.  58. 

^  H.  Le  Roux,  Nos  Filles,  ch.  iv. 

3  Claire  de  Pratz  writes:  "It  would  be  impossible  now  to 
educate  young  women,  who  are  no  longer  brought  up  with  a 
firm  religious  faith,  to  the  ideal  of  self-effacement  which  inspired 
our  forebears.  The  French  girl  is  today  educated,  not  at  a 
convent,  but  at  a  State  lycee,  where,  in  accordance  with  republi- 
can convictions,  she  receives  a  strong  intellectual  instruction, 
but  no  religious  or  ethical  training.  All  the  forces  of  her  personal 
character  or  temperament,  which  heretofore  had  been  carefully 


246       Brieux  and  French  Society 

is  not  an  exception.  She,  at  least,  is  real,  whatever 
pessimistic  exaggeration  there  may  be  in  other 
characters.  Caroline  seems  real,  too,  though  some 
critics  have  thought  otherwise.  She  is  consistent 
in  her  loneliness ;  and  if  the  shaking  of  her  religious 
faith  at  the  end  comes  as  a  surprise,  the  reason 
is  that  the  author  had  no  opportunity  to  indicate 
her  doubt  in  advance.  Angele,  it  must  be  said, 
he  has  not  made  so  real.  Her  return,  in  the  last 
act,  from  the  notary's  to  her  father's  house  seems 
only  a  device  of  the  author's  to  complete  the 
trinity  of  the  sisters  and  strengthen  his  argument 
that  at  the  present  time  a  bourgeois  girl,  if  without 
a  dowry,  has  only  three  possibilities  before  her: 
she  becomes  an  old  maid,  she  goes  wrong,  or  she 
makes  a  bad  marriage. 

All  in  all,  Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Dtipont,  whether 
or  not  the  "masterpiece"  that  Claire  de  Pratz 
has  called  it,  is  an  excellent  drama,  despite  its 
pessimistic  tendencies.  And  the  first  act  un- 
questionably is  a  masterpiece.  If  the  dramatist 
does  not  emphasize  his  larger  purpose  sufficiently 
here,  he  makes  it  clear  enough  later  on  in  the  play. 
Even  if  pessimism  does  mar  the  last  act,  Brieux' s 
strong  scenes  delight  and  amuse  us,  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  and  stir  our  emotions. 

In  Le  Prisme  {The  Prisma  1904),  the  most  im- 
portant novel  of  recent  years  to  treat  the  dowry, 

suppressed,  in  order  to  make  her  an  unselfish,  subservient  crea- 
ture, are  now  as  scrupulously  trained  in  view  of  developing  her 
more  assertive  conscious  self."     France  from  Within,  p.  228. 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry  247 

Paul  and  Victor  Margueritte  show  what  a  wall  of 
prejudice  and  stupidity,  what  obstacles  of  con- 
ventionality and  argument  about  the  dot  bar 
woman's  way  to  marry  for  love  and  according 
to  the  dictates  of  good  sense.  The  Odyssey  of 
Pierre  Urtel,  who  emplo3^s  his  early  years  in  quest 
of  a  big  dowry  that  will  make  him  an  influential 
bourgeois  enjoying  selfish  ease,  is  characteristic 
of  many  young  men  of  our  time.  ^ 

Born  to  parents  who  have  consented  only  re- 
luctantly to  have  a  child,  Pierre  Urtel  loses  his 
father  early  in  life,  and  after  failing  in  several 
careers,  obtains  his  degree  in  law.  Though  for 
some  years  his  mother  has  concentrated  all  her 
ingenuity  upon  his  making  a  good  marriage,  he 
himself  is  undecided  which  of  three  women,  whose 
profiles  stand  out  before  him  in  the  "silver'* 
haze,  he  v/ill  honour  with  his  name.  Finally  he 
chooses  Helene  de  Josserant,  whose  dowry  is  said 
to  be  three  hundred  thousand  francs,  in  addition 
to  which  she  will  inherit  a  fortune  from  a  wealthy 
relation.  In  truth  her  dowry  is  but  half  the 
stated  sum,  and  the  relation  does  not  exist;  but 
Helene' s  maternal  grandmother,  determined  that 
she  shall  make  a  rich  marriage,  represents  her 
dowry  falsely.  When  Pierre  and  Helene  are 
all  but  engaged,  the  relations  on  both  sides  must 
show  their  cards.  Mme.  Urtel,  who  possesses 
only  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs,  looks 
particularly   for   aid   to    Pierre's    wealthy   aunt; 

»  E.  Pilon,  P.  et  V.  Margueritte,  p.  57. 


248       Brieux  and  French  Society 

but  the  aunt  refuses  because  she  wants  him  to 
marry  for  love. '  This  disappointment  and  revela- 
tions regarding  the  girl's  dowry  lead  to  a  quar- 
rel between  Helene's  grandmother  and  Mme. 
Urtel,  which  breaks  off  the  negotiations. 

Pierre  next  pays  court  to  the  illegitimate 
daughter  of  a  wealthy  Cuban  planter.  But  when 
the  planter  dies  unexpectedly  without  legalizing 
the  girl's  status,  he  abandons  the  "chase."  This 
leaves  the  last  of  the  three,  Charlotte  Trapier,  a 
very  plain  girl  in  delicate  health,  whose  dowry 
scarcely  equals  Helene's.  But  since  she  has  a 
wealthy,  influential  uncle,  Pierre's  mother,  fearing 
further  disappointments,  closes  the  bargain. 

Le  Prisme  and  Les  Trots  Filles  expose  the  same 
shameful  abuses:  bartering  in  dowries,  mutual 
deception  in  matrimonial  negotiation,  false  re- 
ports about  inheritances,  and  oncles  d.  heritage. 
Both  works  emphasize  the  desire  of  the  bourgeoisie 
for  money  and  distinction,  their  respect  for  the 
conventionalities  of  society,  and  the  pompous 
display  of  a  vie  de  fagade^  their  opinion  that  love 
should  have  little  or  no  weight  in  matrimonial 
matters.  ^ 

*  The  aunt  has  in  view  for  Pierre  a  young  teacher,  but  his 
mother  opposes  the  union  because  the  girl  works  for  her  living. 

^  In  La  Petite  Amie  (1902),  Brieux  returns  to  the  assault. 
When  young  Andre  Logerais  wants  to  marry  a  girl  whose  dowry 
is  only  ten  thousand  francs,  his  father  thinks  that  a  man  should 
not  marry  before  the  age  of  thirty;  but  Logerais  changes  his  mind 
as  soon  as  he  discovers  a  girl  with  a  dot  of  one  hundred  thousand 
francs.     Determined,  however,  to  marry  the  girl  he  loves — one 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry  249 

There  is,  however,  one  essential  difference 
between  Le  Prisme  and  Brieux's  drama.  It  was 
Brieux's  object  to  show  that  a  bourgeois  girl 
who  has  no  dowry  can  do  but  one  of  three  things; 
hence  he  naturally  does  not  present  contrasted  char- 
acters to  preach  reform.  Messrs.  Margueritte, 
on  the  other  hand,  point  the  way  to  reform. 
One  of  their  characters,  a  teacher,  though  dower- 
less,  marries  a  savant,  a  self-made  man.  Then, 
too,  Pierre's  wealthy  aunt  (one  of  the  authors* 
representatives)  tries  to  bring  about  a  union 
between  him  and  the  sister,  also  a  teacher,  of  the 
girl  who  marries  the  savant.  After  reproaching 
his  mother  and  Helene's  grandmother  for  en- 
deavouring to  unite  two  people  v/ithout  mutual 
inclinations,  the  aunt  declares  that  marriage  is 
the  most  important  act  in  life  and  should  be 
free  from  selfish,  mercenary  considerations. 

Although  these  two  works  make  manifest  the 
objectionable  features  of  the  dot  in  French  society 
today,  we  must  not  expect  the  manage  de  raison 
to  fall  suddenly  into  general  disfavour,  for  deep- 
rooted  customs  persist  long  after  they  have  been 
rejected  by  public  opinion.^     But  the  ultimate 

of  his  father's  clerks — Andre  leaves  home,  and  when  his  father 
attempts  to  starve  him  into  submission,  he  and  his  sweetheart 
commit  suicide.  Logerais  is  guided  by  the  bourgeois  principle 
that  parents  must  prepare  their  children's  happiness  in  spite  of 
them. 

*  Cf.  G.  Ancey,  La  Dupe  (1891).  Adele  Viot  is  compelled  by 
her  relatives  to  accept  post-haste  a  husband  who  marries  her 
only  in  order  to  pay  his  debts  and  carouse  with  her  dowry. 


250       Brieux  and  French  Society 

fate  of  a  custom  rests  with  the  younger  generation, 
whose  tastes,  when  pronounced,  become  a  powerful 
transforming  element.  The  new  generation  may 
compel  the  abandonment  of  an  established  custom 
by  ignoring  it.  The  attitude  of  the  comedie  rosse 
toward  conventional  marriage  some  years  ago 
had  virtually  this  effect.  The  comedy  in  vogue 
at  the  Theatre  Libre,  finding  ridicule  and  caustic 
satire  ineffectual  to  put  the  bourgeois  dot-marriage 
under  the  ban,  professed  esteem  only  for  free  love.  ^ 
The  violence  of  the  rosse  movement  soon  spent 
itself,  but  it  served  the  purpose  of  bringing  the 
objectionable  features  of  conventional  marriage 
to  the  attention  of  the  rising  generation.  Young 
people  found  a  more  rational  conception  of  court- 
ship and  marriage  between  the  two  extremes. 
They  would  base  marriage  on  love — not  in  the 

Incredible  is  the  stupidity  with  which  this  poor  "dupe"  clings 
to  her  noceur. 

^  Notwithstanding  its  many  objectionable  features,  Brieux 
decidedly  prefers  the  dot-marriage  to  free  love,  though  he  doubt- 
less regards  the  dot  as  the  primary  cause  of  the  free  union.  In 
Les  Hannetons  (1906),  he  depicts  a  lycee  teacher,  Pierre  Cottrel, 
who,  in  order  to  avoid  marital  and  financial  care,  has  formed  a 
free  union.  Pierre's  young  companion  tyrannizes  him,  embroils 
him  with  other  people,  paralyzes  his  work,  and  is  finally  the 
cause  of  his  losing  his  position,  after  he  has  made  heroic  ef- 
forts to  free  himself  from  his  yoke.  One  of  the  salient  features 
of  the  play  is  the  denunciation  of  Pierre's  father,  who  has  advised 
him  not  to  assume  the  burdens  of  marriage.  Underneath  the 
surface  humour  runs  a  serious  vein  which,  Bernard  Shaw  declares, 
would  convince  the  most  dissolute  theatre-goer  that  the  un- 
fortunate hero  had  better  have  been  married  ten  times  over 
than  to  have  fallen  into  such  bondage. 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry  251 

frenzied,  romantic  sense,  nor  in  the  unwholesome 
free  union,  but  love  based  on  personal  dignity, 
mutual  esteem,  and  the  affection  of  one  sex  for 
the  other. 

This  conception  of  marriage  does  not  exclude 
the  dowry,  but  it  makes  it  a  matter  of  minor 
consideration.  ^  With  the  dowry  practically  elimi- 
nated, people  can  marry  much  younger  than  form- 
erly. Furthermore,  if  two  persons  are  to  know 
whether  they  really  love  each  other,  they  must 
enjoy  reasonably  free  conditions  of  courtship. 
Thus  there  is  what  may  be  called  a  new  "pro- 
gram" for  marriage:  after  a  freer  and  longer 
courtship,  a  younger  marriage  based  on  personal 
inclination,  with  or  without  a  dowry.  ^ 

These  last  views  of  the  younger  generation  on 
love,  marriage,  and  the  dowry  appear  clearly  in 
Andre  Lichtenberger's  novel,  Le  Sang  Nouveau 
(The  New  Blood  of  France,  1914). 

^  Compare,  however,  Ls  Manage  de  Chiffon  (Gyp)  and  Au  Coin 
d'une  Dot  (L6on  de  Tinseau),  two  novels  whose  authors  virtually 
reject  the  dot. 

^  As  early  as  1893,  Marcel  Provost  announced  what  he  termed 
the  "krach  de  la  dot."  {Les  Demi-Vierges,  i,  ch.  iii.)  And 
ten  years  later,  as  if  the  truth  of  his  assertion  had  been  ques- 
tioned, he  reaffirmed  his  standpoint  {Lettres  cL  Frangoise,  ch.  xix), 
explaining  the  contrary  view  on  the  ground  that  young  marriages 
were  still  insufficiently  encouraged.  Tending  to  confirm  Marcel 
Provost's  argument,  Emile  Faguet,  after  noting  recently  the  more 
dignified  attitude  of  the  bourgeois  girl,  declares  that,  thanks  to 
her  higher  moral  standard,  she  now  insists  more  and  more  on 
marrying  either  a  man  she  loves,  or  none.  Horreur  des  Re- 
sponsahilites,  p.  117. 


252       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Dailliot,  a  manufacturer  in  urgent  need  of 
replacing  his  rolling  stock,  urges  his  son,  Max, 
to  marry  a  rich  girl:  ''Mademoiselle  de  Monistrol 
has  a  dowry  of  three  hundred  thousand  francs. 
You  can  get  a  delightful  wife,  do  your  duty  to 
your  parents  and  your  country,  and  insure  your 
own  future.  ..."  But  Max,  who  has  received  a 
technical  education  and  is  an  aviator,  loves 
Claire,  the  daughter  of  their  foreman.  Claire  is 
poor,  but  educated,  serious,  and  dignified — 
qualities  which  Max  esteems  infinitely  more  than 
a  dowry. 

X  am  not  a  philosopher  [he  says].  The  words  patrie, 
ideal,  work,  appeal  to  me  with  a  wife  like  Claire. 
I  would  willingly  brave  any  dangers,  endure  any 
hardships,  in  order  to  have  a  home  in  which  she 
should  preside,  in  order  to  bring  up  children,  defend 
my  country  and  my  faith. 

Max  marries  Claire,  and  after  overcoming  many 
difficulties,  is  appointed  director  of  aviation  in 
one  of  the  South  American  republics. 

This  spirit  of  the  ''new  blood"  of  France  gives 
promise  of  sufficient  vitality  to  check  the  evil  of 
the  dot  permanently.^  To  be  sure,  there  still 
exist  in  society  as  well  as  in  fiction  such  types 
as  Gaston  de  la  Rochelandier,  ^  Gaston  de  Pres- 

*  C/.  E.  Psichari,  L'Appel  des  Armes,  p.  76.  E.  Demolins 
says:  "We  want  .  .  .  young  men  fully  determined  to  seek  in 
marriage  a  helpmate,  not  a  dowry."  La  Superiorite  des  Anglo- 
Saxons^  p.  354,  tr.  by  Lavigne. 

^  Sacs  et  Parchemis  (Sandeau). 


Marriage  and  the  Dowry         253 

les, '  and  the  Prince  d'Aurec,  ="  eager  to  regild  their 
escutcheons,  in  spite  of  the  example  of  Savinien  de 
Portenduere,  ^  Rosalie  de  Watteville,^  or  Jean  de 
Lizardiere.  ^  But  the  prestige  of  the  older  selfish 
bourgeois  of  fiction  like  Mme.  Huguet^  and 
Logerais,^  is  on  the  wane.  Young  people,  now 
accustomed  to  greater  freedom  in  courtship, 
refuse  to  be  their  parents'  dupes.  Furthermore, 
the  European  war,  which  is  proving  the  best  mat- 
rimonial bureau  France  has  ever  had,  seems 
destined  to  revolutionize  French  courtship  and 
marriage;  for,  besides  freeing  girls  from  their 
mothers*  apron  strings,  it  has  already  demon- 
strated that  women  can  compete  successfully  with 
men  in  industrial  pursuits.  These  new  conditions 
render  feasible  the  realization  of  Brieux's  pro- 
gram for  the  independence  of  women  as  sketched 
in  Suzette^  and  developed  in  La  Femme  Seule.^ 

'  Le  Gendre  de  M.  Poirier  (Augier  and  Sandeau). 

^  Le  Prince  d^Aurec  (Lavedan). 

^  Ursule  Mirouet  (Balzac).  '^Albert  Savarus  (Balzac). 

s  La  Lizardiere  (Bomier).  *  La  Jeunesse  (Augier). 

f  La  Petite  Amie  (Brieux). 

'  One  of  M.  Guadagne's  daughters  has,  to  his  regret,  married 
the  son  of  a  retired  magistrate.  Another  is  studying  dramatic 
declamation;  the  third,  nursing.  In  a  quarrel  with  the  former 
magistrate,  who  despises  women  that  earn  their  living,  M. 
Guadagne  says:  "Mes  filles  travaillent,  monsieur,  afin  d'etre 
independantes  et  de  ne  pas  ^tre  contraintes  un  jour  a  epouser  un 
polichinelle  comme  monsieur  votre  fils." 

9  Brieux  wrote  this  play  as  a  double  protest:  both  against  the 
disinclination  of  Frenchmen  to  marry  dowerless  girls,  thus  forcing 
them  into  economic  competition  with  the  male  sex,  and  against 
the  brutal  attitude,  in  this  competition,  of  man,  who,  by  barring 


254       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Henceforth  if  such  girls  as  Dupont's  daughters 
are  unable  to  make  an  honourable  marriage,  they 
will  embrace  a  profession  or  take  to  some  industrial 
vocation. 

woman's  way  everywhere,  compels  her  to  do  his  will.  After  the 
heroine's  love-match  fails,  because  her  dowry  has  been  em- 
bezzled, she  is  obliged  to  resign  her  position  in  journalism,  owing 
to  the  attentions  of  the  editor;  then  is  forced  to  leave  a  bindery, 
since  by  forming  a  union  of  the  women,  she  has  incurred  the 
hostility  of  the  workmen.  Must  she  now  accept  the  suitor  she 
has  vowed  never  to  marry? 

Such  was  formerly  the  helpless  dependence  of  the  French 
working  woman.  But  already  in  Suzette  one  of  the  Guadagne 
girls,  representing  the  author's  opinion,  declared  that  these 
conditions  were  going  to  change — a  prophetic  prediction  which 
the  European  war  has  all  but  fulfilled.  Writing  recently  in  Le 
Journal. on  the  life  of  French  women  after  the  war,  Brieux  says: 
"L'abominable  institution  de  la  dot  disparaitra.  On  se  mariera 
non  plus  pour  s'etablir,  et  a  la  fin  de  sa  jeunesse,  mais  en  pleine 
jeunesse,  et  pour  vivre  toute  une  vie,  avec  les  risques  des  debuts, 
les  luttes  de  la  course  et  les  joies  du  succ^s." 


CHAPTER  X 

DIVORCE' 

Le  Berceau  (Brieux) — Les  Surprises  du  Divorce 
(Bisson) — UEmpreinte  (Herman t) — Rose  et  Ninette 
(A.  Daudet) — Le  Partage  de  VEnJant  (L.  Daudet) 
— Un  Divorce  (Bourget) — La  Maison  d'Argile 
(Fabre) — Le  Dedale  (Hervieu) — Les  Deux  Vies 
(Margueritte), 

NEXT  chronologically  to  Les  Trois  Filles  de  M. 
Dupont  comes  ResuUat  des  Courses,  Brieux' s 
play  on  the  evils  of  gambling  on  the  races.  It  is 
his  most  successful  picture  of  the  lower  classes 
as  the}^  really  are.  If  his  seriousness  had  not 
made  him  take  a  too  gloomy  view  of  the  situation, 
the  play  would  be  a  masterpiece.  But  the  evil 
now  attacked  is  not  so  characteristically  French  as 
most  of  the  others  that  excite  Brieux,  and  there- 
fore not  so  interesting  for  foreign  readers  to  con- 
sider. In  Le  Berceau,  however,  the  first  of  a 
series  of  plays  dealing  with  divorce,  or  at  least 
with  matrimonial  misunderstandings,  he  comes  to 

^  A.  S6ch6  declares  that  the  divorce  question  is  one  of  the 
most  important,  if  not  indeed  the  most  important,  of  all  the 
questions  that  were  brought  upon  the  stage  during  the  second 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.     UEvolution  du  TMdtre  ConUmp.t 

p.  22. 

255     . 


256       Brieux  and  French  Society 

a  subject  that  until  comparatively  recently  has 
engaged  the  attention  of  French  authors  far  more 
than  of  English  and  American.  This  of  course 
does  not  mean  that  marital  unhappiness  is  more 
usual  in  France  than  elsewhere.  Least  of  all 
countries  should  America,  with  its  flagrant  fre- 
quency of  divorce,  think  so. 

Rene  Doumic  remarks  that  some  day  an  in- 
structive and  entertaining  book  will  be  written  on 
the  history  of  the  divorce  question  in  the  French 
drama.  ^  He  might  have  said  in  the  novel,  too, 
for  in  this,  as  in  other  social  questions,  novel  and 
drama  take  about  equal  interest.  If  we  anticipate 
his  history,  we  get,  in  part,  the  following  facts: 

After  the  slack  divorce  legislation  of  the  re- 
volutionary period,  the  Napoleonic  Code  imposed 
numerous  restrictions.  In  1816  the  ''Chambre 
Introuvable"  abolished  divorce.  The  agitation  in 
favour  of  its  re-establishment  had  its  immediate 
source  in  romanticism,  which  glorified  unbridled 
passion,  as  opposed  to  the  conservatism  and  regu- 
larity of  bourgeois  ideals.  The  drama  was  quick 
to  make  use  of  the  agitation.  The  "femme 
incomprise''  and  her  ''right  to  happiness"''  soon 
became  points  of  capital  importance.  By  this 
time  divorce  had  become  a  necessity,  and  the 
innocent  victims,  whose  chains  it  was  destined  to 
break,  made  pathetic  appeals  to  mankind.     Hence 

I  Deux  Alondes,  Mar.  15,  1907. 

^"Lorsque  bs  femmes  revendiquent  le  droit  au  bonheur,  il 
faut  entendre  droit  d  l' amour,     A.  Sech^. 


Divorce  257 

the  sympathy  for  those  oppressed  by  the  inhuman 
articles  of  the  Code.  And  inasmuch  as  the  Code 
attributed  authority  and  rights  chiefly  to  the 
husband,  the  wife  became  both  the  centre  of 
interest  and  the  object  of  sympathy,  whereas  the 
husband,  her  cruel  oppressor,  was  vilified,  flouted, 
and  scorned.  But  there  is  a  limit  to  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  same  theme,  even  though  it  have 
manifold  variations.  Thus  it  happened  that, 
for  the  sake  of  variety,  the  dramatist  generalized 
the  situation,  so  that  occasionally  the  husband 
dragged  the  conjugal  chain.  The  Naquet  Law 
(1884),  which  re-established  divorce  in  France, 
took  most  of  the  wind  out  of  the  dramatist's  sails.  ^ 
In  proportion  as  divorce  increased  and  the  number 
of  "victims"  decreased,  he  found  it  more  and 
more  difficult  to  make  a  case.  Finally,  after  a 
period  of  indifference  characterized  by  an  exces- 
sive liberation  from  conjugal  chains,  the  drama 
faced  about  and  began  a  campaign  against  the 
very  institution  it  had  demanded  for  thirty  years 
with  such  loud  and  persistent  cries.  ^ 

I  This  law  granted  divorce  in  three  cases:  "(i)  en  cas  de 
flagrant  deht  d'adultere;  (2)  en  cas  de  condamnation  de  I'lm  des 
6poux  a  une  peine  infamante;  (3)  en  cas  d'exces,  se vices  et  injures 
graves,  ces  injures  graves,  sevices  et  exces  etant  laisses  a  I'appli- 
cation  des  tribunaux."     E.  Faguet,  Rev.  Bleue,  Nov.  15,  1902. 

^  "  As  long  as  divorce  did  not  exist,  we  attributed  to  its  absence 
conjugal  misunderstandings  which  in  reality  had  their  origin 
in  the  moral  infirmity  of  husband  and  wife.  Now  that  divorce 
exists,  we  realize  that  nothing  has  changed  except  this:  tolerable 
unions  have  become  execrable."  J.  du  Tillet,  Rev.  Bleue,  Mar. 
17,  1900. 
17 


258        Brieux  and  French  Society 

The  literary  movement  in  favour  of  divorce 
lasted  as  long  as  it  did  for  the  reason  that  the 
situation  of  an  individual  innocently  oppressed 
by  the  regulations  of  society  is  always  dramatically 
pathetic  and  never  fails  to  appeal  to  our  sensibility. 
A  play  against  divorce — that  is,  in  the  interests  of 
the  organic  unity  of  the  family  and  of  society — 
seemed  formerly  impossible.  But  the  child  came 
to  the  dramatist's  rescue.  ^  In  the  crusade  against 
the  abuses  of  divorce  the  child  becomes  the  inno- 
cent victim.  The  first  husband  is  a  man  worthy 
of  sympathy  and  respect,  whereas  "the  other 
one,"  even  though  his  intentions  be  the  best,  is 
more  or  less  an  usurper.  The  wife  sacrifices 
her  child  for  her  own  happiness.  It  frequently 
turns  out,  however,  that  her  position  between  her 
child  and  the  two  husbands  becomes  intolerable, 
so  that  she  is  compelled  to  abandon  both  husbands 
and  devote  herself  to  her  child. 

At  first  only  the  comic  side  of  divorce  appealed 
to  the  dramatist,  that  is,  the  awkward  situation 
of  a  woman  with  two  husbands.  It  is  natural 
that  he  should  not  have  realized  at  once  the 
value  of  the  child;  for  what  the  child  gained,  the 
mother  lost,  and  in  the  campaign  of  "liberation," 
the  wife  had  been  represented  as  the  victim  par 
excellence.     With    the    child    as    the    centre    of 

^  "La  presence  de  I'enfant,  voila  done  ce  qui  renouvelle  le 
probleme,  en  change  du  tout  au  tout  les  donnees,  en  modifie  par 
avance  les  conclusions."  A.  Seche,  U Evolution  du  Thedtre 
Contemp.,  p.  47. 


Divorce  259 

interest,  the  drama  assumed  greater  social  impor- 
tance and  soon  gave  rise  to  a  veritable  bourgeois 
tragedy.  And  so  the  campaign  of  ''liberation," 
begun  by  '7a  gourgandine  de  George  Sand''  and 
continued  by  Dumas  filsy  Augier,  Legouve,  Zola, 
the  Margueritte  brothers,  and  the  individualists, 
at  whose  head  was  Ibsen,  came  to  an  end,  in  the 
drama,  about  1895.  The  campaign  of  "repres- 
sion," which  followed  it,  was  most  heated  from 
1895  to  1905.  The  first  French  dramatist  to  con- 
sider divorce  primarily  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
child  was  Eugene  Brieux,  in  Le  Berceau  {The 
Cradle),  whose  conwStant  solicitude  for  the  future 
generation  we  have  noted  from  Menages  d' Artistes 
on,  especially  in  La  Couvee. 

In  Le  Berceau,  a  three-act  comedy  produced 
at  the  Comedie  Frangaise  in  1898,  the  scene 
throughout  is  at  the  home  of  Laurence's  parents, 
M.  and  Mme.  Larsanne.  Laurence,  having  se- 
cured a  divorce  from  Raymond  Chantrel  on  the 
ground  of  infidelity,  has  been  living  with  her  second 
husband,  M.  de  Girieu,  for  about  a  year.  With 
them  is  her  four-year-old  son,  whom  she  idolizes 
but  whom  Girieu  would  send  off  to  the  lycee. 
Their  disagreement  becomes  apparent  when  little 
Julien  falls  so  dangerously  ill  that  his  father, 
Raymond,  calls  and  asks  for  permission  to  stay 
until  the  crisis  is  passed.  The  attending  phy- 
sician deplores  the  child's  position  and  starts  a 
discussion  about  divorce,  quite  contrary  to  all 
propriety,    we    must    admit.       He    would    limit 


2Co       Bricux  and  French  Society 

divorce  to  childless  unions.'  On  the  other  hand, 
Laurence's  mother  thinks  that  it  would  be 
monstrous  if  a  woman  who  has  been  basely 
betra^^ed  were  chained  to  a  wretch  for  life, 
without  hope  of  regaining  her  happiness.  The 
doctor  suggests  pardon,  declai'ing  that  the  child's 
welfare  should  receive  first  consideration.  He 
also  hints  at  the  hea\y  responsibility  assumed  by 
Laurence's  father  in  putting  her  divorce  through 
so  hastily.  Notwithstanding  the  reluctance  with 
which  the  second  husband  gives  his  consent, 
Raymond  remains  constantly  with  Laurence 
at  their  son's  bedside.  Their  allusions  to  incidents 
in  the  child's  infancy,  as  they  read  the  doctor's 
directions,  make  an  impressive  scene.  ^ 

A^Tien,  in  Act  II,  the  attending  Sister  of  Mercy 
speal<:s  of  Julien's  parents  as  " /776>w5/V//r"  and 
*'  madame,'*  Laurence's  mother  informs  her  that 
her  daughter  is  divorced,  and  that  consequently 
1\I.  Chantrel  is  no  longer  anything  to  Laurence. 

*  Desclos,  the  hero  of  Cliacun  sa  Vie  (1907),  a  comedy  by  G. 
Guiclies  and  P.  Cheusi,  says,  in  justification  of  his  contemplated 
divorce:  "If  I  had  children,  it  would  be  my  duty  to  reason 
difTerently;  but  marriage  \N'ithout  children  .  .  .  constitutes  no 
bond." 

"  At  the  first  night,  the  audience  saw  only  the  humorous  side 
of  this  scene,  but  Sarcey  lauds  it.  "Nothing,"  he  declares,  "could 
be  more  touching,  more  logical,  more  true.  The  second  husband 
(the  real  one  according  to  the  law)  is  present ;  but  the  other 
husband  is  the  fatlier.  It  is  wnth  the  natural  father  that  the 
mother  discusses  the  doctor's  prescription,  and  both,  deeply 
a-Tccted  by  the  situation,  recall  incidents  in  their  child's  earlier 
illness."     Quarante  Ans  de  Thedtrc,  viii,  6S. 


Divorce  261 

To  this  the  Sister  says  with  surprise:  **No  longer 
anything!  the  father!  Oh,  madame,  when  two 
persons  are  the  father  and  the  mother  of  the  same 
child,  is  it  possible  for  them  ever  to  be  nothing 
to  each  other?  " 

The  parents  are  almost  overcome  with  emotion 
when,  after  several  days  of  intense  anxiety,  the 
doctor  pronounces  Julien  out  of  danger.  Laurence, 
crying  "our  child!  our  little  child!"  presses  herself 
against  Raymond  and  sobs.  The  second  husband, 
who  enters  before  she  has  recovered  composure, 
forbids  her  to  see  *'that  man"  again.  Laurence 
says  defiantly  that  she  will  consult  Raymond 
whenever  their  child's  welfare  requires  it.  Girieu 
declares  that  Julien  shall  not  come  back  to  his 
house.  Laurence  retorts  that  she  will  not  return 
then  either,  since,  acting  upon  her  father's  advice, 
she  married  again  in  order  that  her  child  might  have 
a  protector.  During  a  discussion  of  their  separa- 
tion between  Laurence  and  Raymond,  we  learn 
that  he  tried  to  make  honourable  amends  for  his 
offence,  but  that  Laurence,  incited  by  her  parents, 
returned  his  letters  unopened.  And  as  soon  as 
she  began  to  talk  of  divorce,  the  lawyers  dragged 
their  honour  into  the  mire,  sullied  their  name, 
and  disclosed  their  family  secrets  with  wanton 
insolence.  Laurence  regards  her  case  as  typical: 
she  is  a  victim  of  the  law  made  for  exceptional 
cases  which,  by  closing  the  door  upon  reciprocal 
pardon,  makes  so  many  misunderstandings 
permanent. 


262       Brieux  and  French  Society 

At  the  opening  of  Act  III,  a  fortnight  later, 
Laurence  still  refuses  to  return  to  Girieu.  She 
intends  to  direct  her  boy's  education  until  he  is 
twelve,  and  then  send  him  to  his  father,  who 
has  promised  to  take  up  permanent  residence  in 
Tunis.  The  final  leave-taking  of  the  divorced 
parents  forms  a  powerful  scene.  After  repeated 
protestations  of  affection,  after  swoonings  and  the 
wringing  of  hands,  the  unexpected  arrival  of  the 
second  husband  threatens  to  upset  everything. 
Girieu  offers  to  feign  to  like  Julien  if  Laurence 
will  come  back.  She  thanks  him  ironically, 
declaring  that  a  reconciliation  is  impossible.  The 
child  alone,  she  goes  on  to  say,  constitutes  a 
family.  They  have  undertaken  to  found  a  family 
with  the  child  of  another  man.  She  would  like 
to  cry  out  to  all  unhappy  wives: 

Do  as  you  like  if  your  union  has  remained  childless. 
You  are  free  to  divorce  and  marry  again:  you  can 
harm   only   yourselves.^     But   if   you   are   mothers, 

^  Not  thus  according  to  Abel  Hermant,  who  declares  through 
one  of  his  characters  that  "a  woman's  second  husband  is  nothing 
but  a  first  amanl."  {L'Empreinte,  ii,  8.)  "Thanks  to  divorce,'' 
says  Jacques  d'Arvant,  Gustave  Guiches's  spokesman,  "marriage 
has  come  to  naught.  Indeed  it  is  worse  than  free  love.  Let  us 
call  it  la  liaison  bourgeoise.^*     Chacun  sa  Vie,  iii,  4. 

How  different  are  the  views  of  the  partisans  of  divorce:  "Just 
imagine  the  asphyxiating,  poisonous  influence  of  a  home  of 
hate!  What  are  the  chances  of  a  child  brought  up  by  parents 
who  detest  each  other?  Anything  is  better  than  such  a  lot;  the 
child  growing  up  amidst  its  father's  baseness  and  its  mother's 
despair;  compelled  to  witness  undignified  scenes,  quarrels,  and 
fist  blows."     Les  Deux  Vies,  ch.  iii. 


Divorce  263 

you  have  not  the  right  to  break  up  the  family.  You 
will  be  unhappy?  A  child's  future  is  well  worth 
a  mother's  happiness/ 

Laurence  refuses  to  remarry  her  first  husband, 
though  she  would  see  no  harm  in  so  doing,  inas- 
much as  marriage  has  become  a  mere  contract, 
to  be  broken  at  wall.  ^  In  the  final  scene,  Girieu 
charges  Raymond  wdth  making  the  child's  illness 
a  pretext  for  alienating  Laurence's  affection  from 
him.  •^  The  first  husband  asserts  that  he  and 
Laurence  w^ere  without  blame  during  Julien's 
illness,  but  that  w^hen  the  crisis  had  passed,  they 
were  irresistibly  draw^n  into  each  other's  arms  by 
a  reianche  of  nature,  which  ignores  the  Code  and 
the  doings  of  magistrates.  ^ 

^Herbert  Spencer  observes  that,  "though  the  happiness  Dr 
misery  of  the  married  pair  is  ordinarily  the  result  chiefly  contem- 
plated, this  result  must  be  held  of  secondary  importance  in  com- 
parison with  the  results  reached  in  offspring."  Pn?i.  of  Ethics, 
vol.  i,  pt.  iii,  ch.  ix. 

^  P.  Masson-Forcstier,  a  partisan  of  liberal  divorce,  defines 
marriage  as  "a  contract  which  unites  man  and  woman  for  the 
purpose  (i)  of  a  common,  habitual  life;  (2)  of  the  procreation 
of  children."  He  would  have  divorce  come  under  common  law, 
the  same  as  any  business  contract.     Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  29,  1900. 

3  This  is  the  third  time  that  the  two  husbands  have  met. 
Doumic  remarks  that  "every  drama  on  divorce  should  place  the 
first  husband  and  the  other  one  face  to  face.  It  is  the  capital 
scene,  and  difficult  to  manage,  because  it  requires  the  greatest 
care  to  keep  such  a  situation  in  a  serious  tone."  Deux  Mondes, 
Mar.  15,  1907. 

4  "The  book  of  nature,"  says  E.  de  Saint-Auban,  "differs 
radically  from  the  record-book  of  legal  acts,  in  that  it  cannot  be 
erased  at  the  will  of  the  judge."  Uldee  Sociale  au  Theatre,  p. 
275- 


264       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Brieux  has  been  criticised  for  not  sticking  strictly 
to  the  "cradle"  after  the  first  act.  This  objection 
is  only  in  part  justified,  for  the  second  and  third 
acts  do  not  exactly  digress  from  his  theme;  rather 
they  run  to  excessive  extremes  of  its  legitimate 
requirements.  A  reawakening  of  Laurence's  love 
for  her  first  husband  is  a  vital  part  of  the  subject, 
if  we  are  fully  to  realize  the  harmful  consequences 
of  divorce  in  separating  parents.  But  a  revival 
of  their  former  affection  does  not  necessarily 
imply  the  eCvStasy  of  romantic  passion.  It  is  this 
excess  that  makes  us  lose  sight  of  the  "cradle.'* 
On  the  other  hand,  a  discreet  love-scene  would  not 
have  been  out  of  place. 

ySarcey's  praise  of  the  piece  is  enthusiastic.  "I 
scarcely  recall  a  play,"  he  writes,  "that  has  ever 
made  me  weep  more  heartily.  The  first  act.  .  . 
is  a  masterpiece."     And  farther  on  he  exclaims: 

There  is  the  thesis!  With  what  emotion  it  pul- 
sates! In  what  tears  it  is  bathed!  How  completely 
those  misinterpret  the  author's  conception  and  the 
fundamental  idea  of  his  drama  who  see  only  a  re- 
awakening of  a  divorced  woman's  love  for  her  first 
husband.  It  is  the  cradle  that  constitutes  the  centre 
of  the  play,  just  as  the  title  indicates.^ 

Frangois  Veuillot,  after  calling  Le  Berceau 
one  of  the  sanest  and  most  artistic  plays  that 
Brieux  has  produced,  observes:  "In  the  drama, 
where  divorce  had  been  the  object  of  so  much 

*  Quarante  Ans  de  Thedire,  viii,  74. 


Divorce  265 

argumentation,  we  had  never  heard  such  a  strong, 
eloquent,  convincing  attack  against  the  institu- 
tion."^ These  two  critics  express  admirably 
the  merits  of  the  play;  for  it  is  the  sincerity  of 
Brieux's  eloquence  and  the  emotion  animating 
the  dialogue  that  enable  him  to  develop  his  thesis 
with  such  power,  y- 

The  eight  or  ten  other  works  of  more  or  less 
importance  on  divorce  show  a  definite  evolution 
from  the  vaudeville,  Les  Surprises  du  Divorce,  to 
the  bourgeois  tragedies,  La  Maison  d'Argile  and 
Le  DSfiale.  Chronologically,  however,  this  may 
not  be  evident,  for  the  reason  that,  of  two  works, 
the  one  first  begun  is  not  necessarily  the  first 
finished. 

Alexandre  Bisson's  Les  Surprises  du  Divorce 
(The  Surprises  of  Divorce,  1888)  is  a  light  vaude- 
ville with  complicated  plot,  shady  allusions,  and  a 
parody  on  prearranged  grounds  for  divorce,  in  the 
form  of  a  slap  received  by  the  wife  in  the  presence 

*  Predicateurs  de  la  Scene,  p.  56. 

^  A  drama  that  emphasizes  at  least  a  recent  occupant  of  the 
"cradle,"  is  Les  Deux  Foyers  (19 10),  by  Gaston  Auvard,  an 
adversary  of  divorce  when  there  is  a  child, 

Solange  Verteil,  betrayed  by  her  husband,  flees  with  her 
little  daughter,  obtains  a  divorce,  and  subsequently  marries  a 
man  named  Bernard.  But  Bernard,  lacking  the  first  husband's  re- 
finement, is  unable  to  make  Solange  forget  Verteil,  especially  owing 
to  the  constant  presence  of  her  child,  who  resembles  the  father. 
And  so,  when  Verteil,  having  returned  from  the  colonies  with 
tuberculosis,  writes  his  daughter  a  touching  letter,  expressing 
deep  regret  for  his  faults,  Solange  pays  him  a  secret  visit.  Upon 
learning  the  secret,  Bernard  bursts  out  in  a  fit  of  jealousy  of 
such  violence  that  Solange  and  her  daughter  leave  him. 


266       Brieux  and  French  Society 

of  witnesses.  In  order  to  get  rid  of  his  mother- 
in-law,  a  man  divorces  his  wife  and  marries  again, 
only  to  discover  that  meantime  his  former  wife 
has  married  his  new  father-in-law.  Here  people 
marry  and  divorce  just  as  one  would  engage  or 
dismiss  a  servant.  The  spirit  of  the  play  may  be 
inferred  from  the  last  two  lines:  "Marriage  is  a 
lottery,  and  divorce  is  a  surprise  box!'*  There 
is  no  mention  of  children. 

Nor  does  the  child  receive  any  consideration 
in  Abel  Hermant's  comedy,  VEmpreinte  {The 
Imprint,  1895).  A  man  profoundly  in  love  with  a 
woman  persuades  her  to  marry  him,  though  she 
does  not  love  him.  The  wife  soon  finds  other 
lovers.''  The  husband  seeks  compensation,  and 
after  five  years  of  marriage  forces  his  wife  to  a 
divorce,  greatly  to  the  scandal  of  her  mother, 
who  says  that  the  women  of  her  time  had  but  one 
huvsband,  just  as  did  their  mothers  and  grand- 
mothers for  centuries  back.  The  divorced  wife 
marries  again,  but  the  charm  is  broken.  She  soon 
realizes  that  the  husband  she  has  abandoned  means 
everything  to  her,  and  the  second  one,  nothing.  So 
she  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  her  mother  was 
right:  ^^ Femme  d'un  seul  homme!  II  m^a  mar- 
quee d,  son  empreinte  et  je  n^appar liens  qu^d  lui^  ^ 

^  She  associates  preferably  only  with  divorced  persons.  Emile 
Faguet  asserts  that  divorce  is  to  a  certain  extent  a  matter  of  fad 
and  snobbery.     Rev.  Bleue,  Sept.  14,  1901. 

^  On  the  theory  of  I'empreinte  is  based  Leopold  Lacour's 
chief  objection  to  divorce,  as  developed  in  his  comedy,  Le  Seul 
Lien    (1896).     Here,   however,   the   wife   remains   true   to   her 


Divorce  267 

Such  a  situation  constitutes  a  veritable  impasse 
if,  as  in  this  case,  the  first  husband  turns  a  deaf 
ear  to  his  former  wife's  appeals.  ^ 

Alphonse  Daudet  strikes  a  more  serious  note  in 
his  novel  Rose  ct  Ninette  (1891),  in  which,  seven 
years  before  the  production  of  Le  Berceau^  he 
studies  the  consequences  of  divorce  when  there  are 
children.  M.  de  Fagan,  a  playwright  yearning 
for  domestic  peace,  does  not  care  for  his  wife,  a 
vain  woman  of  fashion,  but  he  idolizes  his  two 
daughters.  Rose  and  Ninette.  Unfortunately  he 
is  surprised  one  day  with  his  mistress.  A  divorce 
follows,  the  wife  obtaining  the  custody  of  their 
children,  who  are  permitted  to  spend  only  two 
days  each  month  with  him.     The  mother,  having 

second  husband,  notwithstanding  the  passionate  wooing  of  the 
first.  In  a  certain  sense,  indeed,  both  Le  Berceau  and  Hervieu's 
Le  Dedale  illustrate  Abel  Hermant's  theory. 

'  In  Les  Jacohines  (1907),  a  vaudeville  by  Abel  Hermant, 
several  couples  with  cross-liaisons  would  place  divorce  upon 
the  free  list.  Douart,  however,  the  character  intended  to  re- 
present the  author,  knowing  that  his  wife  has  no  legal  grounds 
for  divorce,  insists  on  preserving  their  union.  In  order  to  make 
him  yield,  she  decides  to  compromise  her  honour.  The  denouement 
leaves  the  conflict  unsettled.  Alfred  Capus  satirizes  the  illusions 
of  divorcees.  In  Les  Deux  Ecoles  (1902),  husband  and  wife  are 
divorced,  then,  discovering  that  they  still  love  each  other,  they 
reunite.  Or,  again,  his  "angel,"  after  returning  to  her  first  hus- 
band, still  is  not  content.  So  the  two  husbands  decide  to  let 
her  try  a  third.  {Un  Ange,  1909.)  Maurice  Hennequin  and 
Paul  Bilhaud  treat  this  theme  in  their  vaudeville,  Heureuse 
(1903)-  Gilberte,  having  obtained  a  divorce  and  married  her 
lover,  soon  seeks  a  new  liaison.  A  lover  met  by  secret  appoint- 
ment proves  to  be  no  other  than  Achille,  her  first  husband,  whom 
she  already  prefers  to  the  second. 


268       Brieux  and  French  Society 

married  again,  gradually  alienates  the  girls*  affec- 
tion from  their  father  who,  almost  insane  from 
grief,  exclaims:  "Ah,  divorce,  that  severance 
of  the  marriage  bond  which  I  welcomed  as  a  deliver- 
ance! Why,  divorce  is  no  solution  at  all  when  the 
parties  have  children." 

In  this  novel,  Daudet  does  not  sufficiently  em- 
phasize the  evil  effects  of  the  mother's  frivolity 
on  the  training  of  her  children. 

The  importance  of  the  child's  v/elfare  is  more 
evident  in  Leon  Daudet's  Le  Partage  de  VE7iJant 
{Partition  of  the  Child's  Affection,  1905O  The 
hero,  Olivier  Champdieu,  whose  parents  have 
been  divorced,  relates  everything  in  the  first 
person.  Like  Laurence  in  Le  Berceaii,  he  will  not 
regret  his  misfortunes  if  only  they  serve  others 
as  a  lesson.     In  the  opening  paragraph  he  says: 

May  my  contemporaries  and  those  who  come  after 
me  find  in  this  simple,  true  story  arms  against  the 
abominable  divorce  law,  which  threatens  to  destroy 
the  French  family!  I  shall  not  regret  my  trials  if 
they  serve  to  enlighten  the  honnete  homme,  the  legis- 
lator, and  the  historian.' 

Olivier' s  father  is  a  former  naval  officer  of 
traditional    provincial    stock.     His    mother,    the 

^  Even  the  author  of  Delphine  and  Corinne  writes:  "  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  in  the  Protestant  States  of  Germany  divorce  is 
prejudicial  to  the  sanctity  of  marriage.  In  these  States  people 
change  wives  and  husbands  as  if  it  were  merely  a  matter  of 
arranging  the  incidents  of  a  dramatic  plot."  De  VAllemagne,  i, 
ch.  iii. 


Divorce  269 

daughter  of  the  Parisian  senator  Armand-Previx, 
comes  from  a  republican  family  of  materialists. 
Hence  family  discord,  fomented  by  Mme.  Armand- 
Previx,  who  triumphs  insolently  over  her  son-in- 
law.  Olivier's  parents  are  divorced.  His  father 
becomes  a  distinguished  explorer  in  Africa.  His 
mother  marries  an  atheistic  savant,  who  hopes 
to  equal  the  first  husband's  fame  by  discovering 
a  cure  for  cancer,  but  fails,  and  after  quarrelling 
(like  his  predecessor)  with  the  redoubtable  Mme. 
Armand-Previx,  goes  to  America,  where  he  dies. 
Olivier's  foolish  mother  is  the  real  victim  in  the 
story,  though  he  declares  that  parents'  willingness 
to  get  divorced  implies  a  culpable  indifference 
to  the  welfare  of  their  children.  He  finally  has 
consolation  for  his  misfortunes;  for,  thanks  to  his 
paternal  grandmother,  who  is  a  model  of  noble- 
ness, he  marries  a  charming  friend  of  his 
vouth.  ^ 

The  traditional  faith  of  France,  again,  assumes 

^  Le  Partage  de  V Enfant  resembles  closely  in  theme  La  Victime, 
a  novel  by  Fernand  Vand^rem  dramatized  in  19 14.  Lucie  Tail- 
lard,  who  has  a  five-year-old  son,  Gege,  decides  to  divorce  her 
husband.  When,  however,  she  informs  her  father  of  her  inten- 
tions ,  he  says :  "From  a  material  standpoint,  your  arrangements 
are  admirable  .  .  .  but  I  am  worried  about  the  lamentable 
future  of  that  poor  little  fellow  [Gege].  For  his  misfortune  will 
be  the  price  of  your  monstrous  egotism.  Divorce  will  make 
your  child  virtually  an  orphan,  a  declasse  without  a  home.  In 
divorce,  the  real  victim  is  the  child."  (Act  I,  sc.  6.)  G6g6  is, 
indeed,  as  truly  a  "victim"  as  Olivier  Champdieu,  for  the  rival 
efforts  of  his  divorced  parents  to  bribe  his  affection  must  demoral- 
ize him  and  develop  his  egotism  to  an  alarming  degree. 


270       Brieux  and  French  Society 

great  importance  in  Un  Divorce,  a  novel  published 
by  Paul  Bourget  in  1904  and  dramatized  three 
years  later.  In  the  opening  chapter,  the  heroine, 
whose  first  husband  has  married  again,  has  been 
the  wife  of  M.  Darras,  a  banker,  for  twelve  years. 
Her  grown  son,  Lucien,  lives  with  them.  Since 
they  both  oppose  Lucien's  marriage,  he  obtains 
his  father's  consent,  which  sufBces. 

Far  more  serious  is  a  conflict  of  a  religious 
nature  which  arises  in  the  family.  From  her 
second  marriage  Mme.  Darras  has  a  daughter, 
Jeanne,  whose  preparation  for  communion  re- 
awakens her  own  dormant  faith.  Darras,  an 
atheist,  though  in  other  respects  kind  to  them, 
not  only  opposes  their  religious  interest  but 
obstinately  refuses  his  wife's  request  for  a  re- 
marriage by  the  Church  after  her  former  husband's 
death.  Incensed  at  this  implacable  attitude, 
Mme.  Darras  and  Jeanne  leave  home.  Subse- 
quently a  reconciliation  takes  place  which  may 
lead  to  the  religious  ceremony.  But  since  this  will 
be  possible  only  at  the  expense  of  the  husband's 
firm  conviction,  Mme.  Darras  ''cursed  once  more 
that  criminal  divorce  law  ...  a  law  fatal  to  both 
the  family  and  religious  life.  .  .  ."'  Earlier  in 
the  story,  Mme.  Darras  had  consulted  the  liberal- 

^  The  heroine  in  Constance  (1891),  a  novel  by  Theodore  Bent- 
zon,  prefers  to  "break  her  heart"  rather  than  marry  a  divorced 
man.     Cf.  Decheance  (1897),  by  Mme.  Jeanne  Dieulaf oy. 

Bourget  tells  us  that  Coppee  was  distressed  and  grieved  over 
the  divorce  law  of  1884,  which  must  inevitable  destroy  vigorous, 
durable  families.    Pages  dc  CrU.,  i,  281. 


Divorce  271 

minded  Abbe    Euvrard,  v/ho,  voicing   Bourget's 
sentiments,  said: 

It  has  not  been  twenty  years  since  that  detestable 
law  was  passed,  yet  how  many  tragedies  I  have  already 
seen  it  cause!  I  have  seen  fratricidal  hate  between 
the  children  of  the  first  marriage  and  of  the  second; 
fathers  and  mothers  condemned  by  their  sons  and 
daughters;  jealousy,  caused  by  the  existence  of  the 
first  husband,  torturing  the  second;  or  horrible  strug- 
gles between  the  first  husband  and  his  former  wife 
at  the  bedside  of  their  child.  ^ 

If  Un  Divorce  is  a  bourgeois  tragedy,  Emile 
Fabre's  drama,  La  Maisoji  d'Argile  {The  House 
of  Clay^  1907)  develops  a  conflict  of  still  greater 
bitterness,  owing  to  the  part  that  money  plays  in 
it. 

Mme.  Rouchon  divorces  her  husband,  who  goes 
to  Tunis  with  their  son,  Jean,  while  she  keeps  the 
daughter,  Valentine.  Some  twenty  years  later, 
at  the  opening  of  the  play,  she  is  the  wife  of 
M.  Armieres,  an  influential  business  man  of 
Havre.  They  have  a  daughter,  Marguerite, 
whose  approaching  marriage  necessitates  a  large 
dowry;  but  as  Armieres  has  lost  heavily  on  the 

'  Adolphe  Brisson,  speaking  of  Abbe  Lemire,  says:  "He 
explained  to  me  the  deplorable  influence  of  divorce  upon  the 
education  of  the  children,  and  declared  that  nine  times  in  ten  the 
enemies  of  society,  the  most  violent  anarchists,  are  poor  un- 
balanced persons  who  have  been  deprived  of  parental  attention 
and  abandoned  to  the  bad  influences  of  moral  isolation."  Les 
Prophetes,  p.  249. 


272       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Stock  Exchange,  they  will  be  obliged  to  sell  their 
factory  at  a  sacrifice,  in  order  to  obtain  the  money. 
At  the  critical  moment,  Valentine  asserts  her 
rights,  charging  her  mother  with  neglecting  her  in 
the  interests  of  Marguerite.  Besides,  Jean  returns, 
buys  the  factory,  and  insists  on  deducting  from 
the  price  a  certain  sum  due  him  from  his  grand- 
father's estate.  So  after  his  mother  has  raised 
Marguerite's  dowry  and  paid  her  second  husband's 
debts,  she  has  nothing  left  for  herself.  Not  only 
do  Jean  and  Valentine  abandon  her  to  join  their 
father,  but  Armieres,  unwilling  to  witness  the 
first  husband's  triumphal  return,  deserts  his 
wife  and  accepts  a  position  in  Russia.  Valentine 
accuses  her  mother  of  sacrificing  her  children 
for  her  own  happiness.  The  same  sentiment  is 
voiced  by  the  "reasoner, "  who  declares: 

It  is  perhaps  absurd  to  say  that  a  woman,  be 
she  a  widow  or  divorced,  who  is  a  mother,  must 
renounce  the  joys  of  lovers  and  wives;  that  neither 
the  unworthiness  nor  even  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band justifies  her  in  repairing  her  happiness.  Never- 
theless, what  if,  in  marrying,  in  assuring  her  own 
happiness,  she  compromise  the  happiness  of  her 
children?^ 

'  "While  I  was  the  secretary  of  M.  Nathan,  the  celebrated 
lawyer  of  Marseilles,"  Fabre  relates,  "I  witnessed  several  legal 
suits  which  raised  particularly  delicate  social  problems.  Thus  I 
had  many  occasions  for  deploring  the  sad  lot  of  children  whose 
parents  divorce  or  remarry."  G.  Sorbets,  Illustration  Thedtralct 
March  30,  1907. 


Divorce  273 

Thus  the  mother  realizes  that  one  cannot 
belong  to  two  families.  Fabre's  "house  of  clay" 
symbolizes  the  modern  family,  which  has  resulted 
from  divorce,  in  contrast  to  the  family  of  former 
times,  with  its  solidity  of  stone.  ^ 

In  Le  Dedale  {The  Labyrinth^  1903),  Paul  Her- 
vieu  gives  us  a  more  tragic  conflict  still.  In  general 
plot,  his  drama  differs  little  from  Le  Berceau. 
We  have  again  a  divorced  woman — her  name  is 
Marianne — who  has  made  a  second  marriage, 
and  whose  affection  for  her  first  husband  is  re- 
vived through  the  illness  of  the  child  of  the  first 
marriage.  Three  points  of  difference,  however, 
are  noteworthy:  Marianne's  mother  is  uncom- 
promisingly opposed  to  divorce;  the  second  hus- 
band's dislike  for  Marianne's  child  disappears 
early  in  the  play;  and  Marianne  does  not  blame 
him  for  their  misfortune.  The  wife  betrays  her 
second  husband  for  the  first  upon  the  recovery  of 
their  child  from  a  dangerous  illness.  Then  she 
flees  to  her  parents'  home  and  declares  herself 
unworthy  of  living  again  with  either  husband, 
though  the  second  offers  to  pardon  her.     In  the 

^  One  of  the  sympathetic  characters  in  Alphonse  Daudet's 
La  Petite  Paroisse  says:  "Formerly,  when  people  knew  that 
their  union  was  for  life,  they  made  concessions  and  sacrifices. 
Nowadays,  at  the  first  ripple,  the  union  is  declared  intolerable. 
No  indulgence,  no  patience.  Even  when  our  young  people 
marry  for  love,  they  say  to  themselves:  'In  case  of  trouble,  the 
door  is  open.'  "  JMarcel  Prevost's  heroine  in  Pierre  et  Therese 
would  have  sought  a  divorce,  had  she  not  regarded  the  marriage 
vow  as  binding  through  thick  and  thin. 
18 


274       Brieux  and  French  Society 

conflict  that  follows,  the  divorced  husband  attacks 
the  other  on  a  precipice  overhanging  a  torrent, 
and  they  both  roll  down  to  their  destruction. 

Hervieu  might  be  accused  of  inconsistency  in 
writing  this  play  against  divorce,  since  he  had 
pleaded  in  Les  Tenailles  (1895)  for  divorce  by 
mutual  consent.  But  Le  Dedale  is  not  a  case  of 
mutual  consent;  for  it  is  the  first  husband  who 
has  the  separation  converted  into  a  divorce. 
Marianne  has  consented  to  a  second  marriage 
only  reluctantly  and  in  a  spirit  of  revenge.  Fur- 
thermore, Irene  Fergan,  in  Les  Tenailles ^  has  no 
child  at  the  time  she  seeks  a  divorce  from  her 
husband.  The  existence  of  a  child  makes  all 
the  difference  in  the  world  with  Hervieu,  just  as 
with  Brieux.  ^ 

After  this  review  of  works  by  authors  opposed 
to  divorce,  in  one  form  or  another,  it  would  be 
unjust  to  refuse  the  attorneys  for  the  defence  a 
hearing  So  far  as  I  know,  no  Franch  dramatist 
of  note  has  pleaded  the  cause  of  divorce  since 
about  1895  Among  the  novelists  of  these  years 
who  favour  a  more  liberal  form  of  divorce  may  be 
mentioned  Marcel  Prevost,  Paul  Masson-Forestier, 
perhaps  J.  H.  Rosny ,  and  above  all,  Paul  and  Victor 
Margueritte,  who  have  been  the  untiring  standard- 
bearers  of  the  movement  since  about  1900.     After 

^  It  is  in  Les  Tenailles  (ii,  9)  that  Hervieu  alludes  to  divorce 
on  the  persistent  demand  of  a  single  party,  as  it  was  granted 
during  the  Revolution.  In  the  same  scene,  one  of  the  characters 
enumerates  the  present  legal  grounds  for  divorce. 


Divorce  275 

their  Fernmes  NoiiveUes  (1899),  ^^^  before  Le 
Prisme  (1905),  in  which  they  combated  the  shame- 
ful abuses  of  the  dot-system  and  pleaded  for  more 
equity  to  woman  in  marriage  and  her  recognition 
as  a  full  co-partner,  they  began  an  unceasing  cam- 
paign in  favour  of  the  *  'widening  of  divorce. ' '  Their 
propaganda  assumed  the  form  of  pamphlets,  short 
articles,  prefaces,  and  bits  of  documentary  evi- 
dence. Their  most  serious  literary  work  on  the 
subject  is  the  novel,  Les  Deux  Vies  {The  Two 
Lives),  which  appeared  in  1902.^ 

Here  we  have  the  story  of  Mme.  Favie  and  her 
daughter,  Francine,  each  of  whom  has  had  an 
unfaithful  husband.  Mme.  Favie  has  separated 
from  hers,  but  her  inbred  horror  of  marriage  after 
divorce  prevents  her  from  contracting  a  second 
union  with  a  suitor  whom  she  loves.  Francine, 
after  a  long  struggle  with  the  injustices  of  the 
Code,  is  unable  to  get  a  divorce,  although  she  has 
right  on  her  side.  Convinced  of  her  *' right  to 
happiness,"  she  flees  with  her  child,  in  order  to 
prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
unworthy  husband,  and  joins  her  lover,  in  defiance 
of  society.  "It  is  society,"  she  declares,  "that 
has  broken  the  compact."  At  another  place, 
the  authors  liken  divorce  to  the  most  urgent  of 
necessities : 

If  your  house  were  ablaze,  would  you  refuse  to  ex- 

^  This  novel  was  dramatized  under  the  title  of  Le  Cceur  et  la 
Lot  (1905).  The  same  authors'  pamphlet,  Manage  et  Divorce^ 
was  published  in  1900. 


276       Brieux  and  French  Society 

tinguish  the  fire  for  fear  of  spoiling  the  furniture? 
When  a  patient  is  in  danger  of  death,  does  the  surgeon 
hesitate  to  amputate  the  infected  limb  because  the 
patient  will  be  infirm?^ 

jUst  as  in  their  petition  to  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  this  same  year,  here  also  they  favour 
divorce  both  by  mutual  consent  and  at  the  per- 
sistent request  of  one  of  the  contracting  parties. "" 
Like  Paul  Masson-Forestier,  ^  they  would  have 
divorce  rapid  and  without  publicity,  in  order  to  do 
away  with  the  vexing  delays  and  the  humiliating, 
degrading  disclosures  of  present  procedure.  "* 

We  have  noted  the  loud  clamour  for  divorce 
until  it  was  re-established,  in  1884,  and  some  of  the 

I  They  express  this  thought  elsewhere:  "The  amputation 
of  a  limb  is  always  deplorable;  but  sometimes  it  saves  life,  and 
often  without  an  operation  death  results."  Rev.  Bleue,  June 
29,  1901. 

^  Emile  Faguet  is  a  partisan  of  divorce  for  "determined  causes" 
and  by  mutual  consent,  but  he  would  give  only  to  the  wife  the 
prerogative  of  dissolution  by  single  request.  "Le  Repudiation," 
Rev.  Bleue,  Nov.  15,  1902. 

3  Especially  in  Pour  une  Signature  (1892). 

4  See  La  Tourmente  (1893),  ch.  xii.  In  Sous  la  Toque  (1901), 
a  book  on  judicial  manners  by  Albert  Juhelle,  the  author's  repre- 
sentative declares  (p.  302):  "In  the  twentieth  century  .  .  . 
everyone  should  be  granted  the  liberty  and  the  right  to  leave  an 
unhappy  union  erect,  through  a  wide  door,  instead  of  being 
obliged  to  crawl  in  the  mire,  through  the  shameful  hole  which  at 
present  leads  to  divorce."  The  partisans  of  "quick  divorce" 
ought  to  find  their  ideal  in  Bernard  Shaw,  who  says:  "Grant 
divorce  at  the  request  of  either  party,  whether  the  other  consents 
or  not;  and  admit  no  other  ground  than  the  request,  which  should 
be  made  without  stating  any  reasons, ' '     Getting  Married  ( 1 908) . 


Divorce  277 

**  surprises"  which  resulted  from  the  nev\^  law. 
That  the  partisans  and  the  opponents  of  the  law 
should  still  differ  widely  regarding  its  results,  is 
quite  comprehensible.  Certain  broad  facts,  how- 
ever, are  now  clear.  The  majority  of  writers, 
while  emphatically  condemning  the  abuses  of 
divorce,  would  not  favour  a  repeal  of  the  law. 
Yet  the  literary  reaction  against  divorce  must 
not  be  underestimated.  Speaking  of  Dumas's 
disillusion,  Maurice  Spronck  says:  "A  day  came 
when  he  himself  realized  his  error  and  understood 
the  irremediable  failure  of  his  apostolate.  .  .  . 
Facts  brutally  belied  the  prophetic  affirmations 
of  the  moralist."^  Alfred  Capus,  after  favouring 
divorce,  even  when  there  is  a  child  {La  Chatelaine^ 
1902),  writes,  ten  years  later: 

Alas!  divorce  leads  to  domestic  complications 
which  the  theorists  did  not  foresee.  The  most 
insoluble  of  these  are  the  post-divorce  tragedies 
involving  the  children  and  property  rights — that  is, 
precisely  the  difficulties  which  divorce  was  supposed 
to  prevent.^ 

All  the  authors  whom  we  have  considered,  ex- 
cept Messrs.  Margueritte,  may  be  said  to  oppose 
divorce — a  few  unconditionally,  others  when  the 
parties  have  children.  Even  the  Marguerittes  real- 
ize that  there  are  legitimate  objections  to  the  insti- 
tution.    Only,  they  regard  it  as  a  necessary  evil; 

^  Deux  Mondes,  Apr.  i,  1898. 
^  Figaro,  June  24,  1912. 


278        Brieux  and  French  Society 

and  in  order  to  mitigate  the  evil,  they  would 
simplify  and  shorten  the  necessary  legal  ac- 
tion. 

The  most  serious  reason  by  all  odds  yet  advanced 
for  opposing  divorce  is  that  just  emphasized  by 
Alfred  Capus — the  possibility  of  harmful  con- 
sequences to  the  child.  This  possibility  has  in 
recent  years  added  greatly  to  the  seriousness  of 
the  question,  with  the  increasing  tendency  among 
French  men  of  letters  to  make  the  future  genera- 
tion the  basis  of  consideration.  Such  a  tendency 
denies  parents*  ^' right  to  happiness"  and  the 
individual's  right  to  self- development,  if  this 
development  and  this  happiness  must  be  obtained 
at  the  expense  of  an  innocent  party.  It  rejects 
utterly  the  wanton  selfishness  of  the  romanticists 
and  the  superb  egotism  of  the  individualists. 

What  conclusion  may  we  draw  from  the  curious 
evolution  of  the  drama  in  this  question?  Rene 
Doumic  asks  whether  it  is  a  success  to  be  registered 
for  traditional  morality  and  the  religious  con- 
ception of  marriage.  Can  it  be  said  that  the 
dramatist,  taught  by  experience,  has  realized  the 
superiority  of  marriage  as  it  existed  formerly,  and 
that  he  now  repudiates  sincerely  an  attitude  of 
which  he  repents?  Shall  we  declare  that  the 
stage  reflects  faithfully  the  changes  of  public 
opinion,  and  that,  after  having  been  favourable 
to  divorce,  public  opinion  assumes  a  hostile 
attitude?  Not  necessarily,  Doumic  thinks:  that 
would  be  exaggerating  the  social  importance  of 


Divorce  279 

the  drama.  ^  As  a  general  thing,  both  the  drama 
and  the  novel  follow  rather  than  lead  public 
thought,  though  much  depends  on  the  individual 
author.  Dumas  jils  frequently  showed  himself 
a  bold  leader^;  Augier  was  much  less  aggressive, 
as  have  been  their  successors.  While  Brieux 
cannot  be  said  to  have  advocated  theses  disap- 
proved by  the  sentiment  of  his  time,  he  has  had 
the  courage  to  dramatize  questions  which  seemed 
unpromising  material.  Moreover,  he  has  done 
so  with  conspicuous  success.  Le  Berceau  was 
not  the  first  French  drama  against  the  abuses  of 
divorce,  but  it  was  the  first  drama  of  the  kind — 
at  least  of  merit — to  champion  the  interests  of  the 
child. 

*  Deux  Mondes,  Mar.  15,  1907. 

^  In  the  interests  of  divorce  legislation,  he  combined  political 
and  literary  activity.  Maurice  Spronck,  speaking  of  the  law  of 
1884,  says  that  Dumas  expended  so  much  energy  and  so  swayed 
public  opinion  that  he  might  justly  have  been  regarded  as  one  of 
its  authors.     Deux  Mondes,  Apr.  i,  1898. 


CHAPTER  XI 

SEPARATION   AND   THE   CHILD 

La  Deserteuse  (Brieux)  —  Maman  Colihri  (Ba- 
taille) — Le  Bercail  (Bernstein) — Les  Yeux  qui 
s^ouvrent  (Bordeaux) — Madame  Corentine  (Bazin) 
— Suzette  (Brieux). 

AN  author  concerned  about  the  disintegrating 
forces  which  threaten  marriage  and  the  sta- 
bility of  the  family  may  not  content  himself  with 
treating  the  bare  subject  of  divorce.  After  con- 
sidering the  more  general  aspects  of  the  evil, 
he  may  amplify  his  original  standpoint,  examining 
individually  the  rights  of  husband,  wife,  and 
child.  So  Brieux  has  done.  ^  Le  Berceau  was  not 
his  last  word  on  the  sanctity  of  the  family.  Not 
that  he  changes  his  views  in  later  plays:  he  only 
supplements  what  he  has  already  said  and  con- 
siders other  phases  of  parental  and  filial  relation. 

^  To  realize  this  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  social  drama,  we 
need  only  recall  Ibsen's  Norah,  the  model  that  held  undisputed 
sway  during  the  period  of  infatuation  for  individualism.  And 
just  as  Ibsen  seems  to  have  introduced  children  in  his  play  only 
to  emphasize  the  gravity  of  the  necessity  that  confronts  his 
heroine,  so  Jules  Case,  in  La  Vassale  (1897),  represents  his  heroine 
as  a  mother  merely  to  show  that  nothing  else  matters  when  it  is  a 
wife's  duty  to  seek  her  personal  happiness. 

280 


Separation  and  the  Child         281 

In  La  Deserteuse  he  concludes  that  one  parent,  if 
abandoned  by  the  other,  must  not  marry  again 
as  long  as  the  child  remains  at  home.  In  a  later 
play,  Stizette,  he  considers  the  lot  of  a  child  whose 
parents  are  about  to  separate.  ^ 

Since  these  three  plays — Le  Berceaii,  La  Deser- 
teuse, and  Stizette — are  nearly  related  in  subject,  it 
seems  best  here  to  give  up  for  the  time  our  chrono- 
logical method  of  examining  Brieux's  works. 
In  point  of  fact,  there  were  five  plays  between  his 
first  word  on  divorce  and  his  second,  six  years 
later — all  works  of  his  "Storm  and  Stress  period." 
With  La  Deserteuse — his  return  to  the  question 
of  divorce — we  pass  to  Brieux's  third  "period," 
in  which  the  tone  of  his  works  is  said  to  become 
milder  and  more  hopeful.  Real  as  the  change  is, 
even  if  not  always  easily  apparent,  there  is  danger 
of  exaggerating  it  as  a  change  in  Brieux's  own 
temperament.  When  he  was  most  militant, 
violence  in  the  French  drama  was  a  fashion. 
That  had  now  spent  itself  and  ceased  to  please;  a 
change  similar  to  Brieux's  is  noticeable  in  all  the 
French  social  dramatists.  Now  Brieux,  we  have 
seen,  never  lacked  independent  courage  in  his 
literary  ventures;  at  the  same  time  his  conspicu- 
ous common  sense  would  keep  him  from  needlessly 
antagonizing  literary  fashion.  The  comparative 
mildness  and  optimism  of  his  later  works  are 
more  likely  due  to  the  times  than  to  any  change  in 

^  Simone,  a  third  drama  by  Brieux  that  might  be  classed  here, 
is  discussed  in  the  next  chapter. 


282       Bricux  and  French  Society 

his  own  feelings.  While  he,  like  most  men,  has 
become  more  conservative  with  age,  it  is  doubtful 
if  he  would  have  given  up  the  piece  de  combat,  which 
he  liked  so  well,  if  that  type  of  play  had  not  been 
frovv^ned  on  of  late  by  French  theatre-managers. 

La  Deserteuse  {The  Deserting  Wife,  1904),  in 
four  acts,  written  in  collaboration  with  Jean  Sigaux 
was  first  represented  at  the  Odeon  Theatre. 
Though  written  in  collaboration,  it  nevertheless 
reveals  Brieux  as  the  guiding  spirit.  It  is  his 
only  play,  except  Bernard  Palissy,  the  early 
drama  in  verse,  and  V Armature  (1905),  based  on 
a  novel  by  Paul  Hervieu,  which  is  not  entirely 
his  own. 

In  the  first  act,  which  takes  place  in  Nantes, 
at  the  house  of  Forjot,  a  music-dealer,  local 
musicians  are  giving  an  operetta,  Les  Olympiens. 
The  composer  of  this  masterpiece,  whom  all  vie 
in  calling  ''maitre,''  has  deigned  to  honour  the 
soiree  with  his  presence.  Mme.  Forjot,  Gabrielle, 
has  taken  the  star  role. 

Forjot,  a  plain  bourgeois  engrossed  in  business, 
is  opposed  to  his  wife's  singing  in  public.  He 
thinks  that,  instead  of  vSpending  her  time  with  an 
impresario,  Rametty,  she  ought  to  devote  herself 
to  their  daughter,  Pascaline,  a  girl  of  thirteen. 
Owing  to  Mme.  Forjot's  sacrificing  her  home 
duties  to  "self -culture,"  Pascaline  is  timid  in  her 
presence,  as  if  her  mother  were  a  stranger,  though 
she  has  become  greatly  attached  to  Helene,  her 
governess,  to  whom  she  confides  everything.    .. 


Separation  and  the  Child         283 

For  jot  has  known  for  some  time  that  his  wife's 
trips  to  Paris,  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  consult- 
ing a  throat  specialist,  are  only  a  pretext  for 
meeting  Rametty;  yet  rather  than  compromise 
Pascaline's  future  by  a  divorce  scandal,  he  has  said 
nothing.  But  when  now  the  impresario  urges 
Gabrielle  to  make  a  tour  with  his  troupe,  the  crisis 
suddenly  develops.  Still  vaguely  conscious  of  her 
maternal  and  marital  duties,  Gabrielle  at  first 
hesitates  to  accept  Rametty' s  proposals.  But 
finally,  intoxicated  by  her  success  in  Les  Olympiens 
and  by  the  ''master's"  compliments,  she  refuses 
to  listen  to  her  husband,  abandons  her  daughter, 
and  elopes  with  the  impresario. 

At  the  opening  of  Act  II,  four  years  later, 
Forjot,  who  has  married  Helene,  is  living  in  Paris. 
Helene  loves  Pascaline  as  her  own  child,  but  the 
girl,  incited  by  her  mother,  who  has  returned 
from  a  tour  abroad,  rewards  Helene' s  good  inten- 
tions with  indifference  or  open  hostility.  Helene 
has  always  praised  Gabrielle,  so  that  Pascaline 
believes  her  mother's  story,  according  to  which 
her  departure  was  for  reasons  of  temperamental 
incompatibility.  Hence  Pascaline  regards  her 
mother  as  an  innocent  victim,  and  "that  woman," 
her  formerly  beloved  governess,  as  an  usurper. 

Act  III  introduces  us  to  Gabrielle's  theatrical 
"office,"  in  which  she  is  engaging  "artists"  for 
her  next  tour.  Her  troupe  consists  of  two  or  three 
sorry  singers;  their  equipment,  of  a  couple  of 
rickety  instruments.     After  a  violent  quarrel  with 


284       Brieux  and  French  Society 

her  father,  Pascaline  comes  to  her  mother,  of 
whose  situation  she  has  a  vague  but  roseate  con- 
ception. Gabrielle  is  naturally  embarrassed  on 
account  of  her  relations  with  Rametty,  though 
she  rejoices  at  winning  Pascaline  away  from 
Helene.  The  young  stepmother  humbly  begs  the 
"deserter"  to  send  Pascaline  back,  pointing  out 
her  tender  devotion  to  the  girl.  To  Helene' s 
entreaties  Gabrielle  replies: 

Whatever  may  be  your  merit,  it  is  of  no  consequence 
in  comparison  with  the  fact  that  Pascaline  is  my 
child,  a  product  of  my  flesh  and  blood.  By  marrying 
my  husband,  you  have  made  definitive  a  separation 
contrary  to  natural  laws.  In  this  you  were  favoured 
by  the  complicity  of  Pascaline's  father,  the  advantage 
of  my  conduct,  and  the  aid  of  the  law.  But  in  spite 
of  my  husband,  in  spite  of  me,  in  spite  of  the  judge, 
my  daughter  remains  my  daughter  and  your  enemy. 

In  the  final  act,  the  unselfish  stepmother  refuses 
to  continue  the  struggle.  "We  made  a  mistake," 
she  says  to  For  jot.  "You  let  the  unfaithful  wife 
go,  and  it  was  your  right,  but  ought  you  to  have 
replaced  the  mother?"  And  so  Helene  informs 
Gabrielle  that  she  intends  to  leave  Forjot,  in 
order  to  induce  Pascaline  to  return.  This  generos- 
ity disarms  the  hostility  of  Gabrielle,  who  recon- 
ciles her  daughter  with  Helene,  since,  after  all, 
she  wishes  to  marry  Rametty. 

It  is  a  difficult  problem  which  the  authors  of 
La  Deserteiise  have  presented — one  more  difficult 


Separation  and  the  Child         285 

of  solution  than  that  of  Le  Bercean,  since  now 
there  are  four  chief  characters  who  demand 
ahiiost  equal  attention. '  For  the  young  child  of 
the  earlier  play  has  become  a  force  to  be  reckoned 
with — the  most  problematic  and  disturbing  ele- 
ment in  the  situation.  Then,  too,  the  husband,  in 
filling  the  vacancy  created  by  his  wife's  desertion, 
places  himself  in  a  difficult  position.  For,  in 
case  of  differences  between  his  child  and  her 
stepmother,  he  cannot  remain  neutral  without 
effacing  his  personality.  If  he  sides  with  the 
stepmother,  his  child  becomes  a  victim  of  his 
selfishness.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  does  not 
uphold  the  new  wife,  then  his  second  union  loses 
its  justification.  A  break  between  child  and 
stepmother  may  be  averted,  or  at  least  post- 
poned, by  representing  the  second  wife  as  self- 
-sacrificing. But  imdue  abnegation  on  her  part  is 
improbable.  Of  course  it  is  possible  to  make  the 
child  a  docile  little  angel  immune  against  its 
mother's  intrigues.  But  if  the  dramatist  paints 
the  "deserter"  entirely  black,  in  order  to  prevent 
her  harmful  influence  over  the  child,  his  theme 
loses  its  point.  It  is  evident  that  an  author  v/ho 
would  pilot  our  theme  through  successfully  must 
steer  clear  of  all  these  dangerous  reefs. 

The  authors  have  succeeded  in  doing  so  in  the 

^  This  difficulty  may  be  what  Rene  Doumic  has  in  mind.  In 
attempting  to  explain  why  the  play  was  not  more  successful  on 
the  stage,  he  says  that  "I'interdt  est  trop  disperse."  Deux 
Mondes,  Nov.  15,  1904. 


286       Brieux  and  French  Society 

first  act,  and  to  a  fair  degree  in  the  second  also. 
But  toward  the  end  of  the  third,  they  sacrifice 
the  vraisemblance  of  the  stepmother's  character, 
in  order  to  prolong  the  action.  Helene,  as  a 
humble  suppliant  pleading  with  Gabrielle  for  her 
stepdaughter's  good- will,  reveals  the  dire  necessity 
of  supporting  the  thesis.  And  from  this  point 
the  husband  is  obliged  to  assume  a  colourless, 
neutral  attitude,  which  in  the  final  act  becomes  as 
objectionable  as  Helene's  excessive  humility.^ 
Another  inconsistency  of  the  play  is  Gabrielle' s 
marriage  to  her  sorry  impresario.  Thanks  to  these 
concessions,  the  child  and  her  deserting  mother 
triumph.  But  we  feel  that  the  result  scarcely 
justifies  its  sacrifices.  The  defects  in  Forjot's 
and  Helene's  characters  might  have  been  obviated 
by  representing  him  as  aggressive  and  her  as  less 
humble,  but  this  would  have  weakened  the  ar- 
gumentative force  of  the  thesis.  The  authors 
have  succeeded  in  showing  that  even  exceptionally 
favourable  conditions  do  not  justify  one  parent  in 
replacing  another  who  is  unfaithful,  while  the 
child  is  still  at  home,  only  by  sacrificing  probability 
in  the  last  two  acts.  ^ 

^  Brieux's  repudiation  of  romanticism  and  the  ^cole  rosse  ii> 
here  complete.  Forjot  has  none  of  the  traditional  husband's 
brutality  and  despotic  bourgeois  egotism.  Similarly,  Rametty 
completely  lacks  the  traditional  lover's  chivalrous  bearing  and 
his  poetic  disinterestedness. 

^  Louis  Moriaud's  novel,  Elle  Divorga  (1894),  depicts  the 
story  of  two  deserting  wives,  a  mother  and  her  daughter.  Mme. 
Oulevet  abandons   her  husband   and   daughter  for   her  lover, 


Separation  and  the  Child         287 

The  story  of  another  deserting  wife  has  been 
dramatized  by  Henry  Bataille  under  the  title 
of  Maman  Colihri  (1904).  Owing  to  her  youthful 
appearance,  Irene  de  Rysbergue,  a  woman  of 
thirty-eight,  who  has  a  grown  son  and  a  younger 
boy,  might  be  taken  for  her  children's  sister. 
Not  wishing  to  attract  attention  to  her  age  at  the 
watering-places  by  calling  their  mother  simply 
'' maman y^  her  sons  have  added  the  term  '^colihri,'' 
because  when  playing  tennis  Mme.  de  Rysbergue 
looks,  to  the  person  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
net,  like  a  humming-bird  darting  about  in  a  cage.  ^ 
She  is  her  sons'  comrade  and  their  confidante  in 
love  matters. 

M.  de  Rysbergue,  a  Belgian  technical  contractor, 
would  seem  to  have  an  ideal  family.     The  elder 


Lahrier.  The  father  is  awarded  the  custody  of  the  child,  Dani^le, 
who  for  several  years  prefers  him  to  her  mother.  But  the  daugh- 
ter's affection  wanes  as  soon  as  financial  misfortune  makes  it  im- 
possible for  her  father  to  send  her  the  usual  monthly  allowance. 
The  mother,  who  has  now  "divorced"  her  husband  and  married 
Lahrier,  succeeds  in  winning  the  daughter  over  to  her  side.  Daniele 
marries  a  charming  young  barrister.  But  soon  after  her  mother's 
death  she,  also,  deserts  her  husband  and  their  child,  in  order  to 
become  her  stepfather's  companion  (possibly  his  legal  wife). 

M.  Moriaud  does  not  exactly  champion  the  thesis  of  La 
Deserteuse,  though  in  both  of  the  cases  he  presents,  we  sympathize 
with  the  abandoned  husband.  We  do  not  feel,  however,  that 
Daniele's  future  deserves  her  father's  sacrifice  in  not  marrying 
again.  If  the  rights  of  the  child  are  to  appeal  to  us,  the  child 
must  not  be  a  Daniele  Oulevet. 

'Bataille's  explanation  of  the  title  is  not  clear,  since  "Maman 
ColihrV  would  attract  more  attention,  it  seems,  than  plain 
"  Maman  y 


288       Brieux  and  French  Society 

son,  Richard,  in  particular,  adores  his  father. 
Toward  his  wife,  M.  de  Rysbergue  is  polite  and 
"correct."  But  Irene  tells  the  old  bourgeois 
story:  her  husband  married  her  simply  to  have  his 
own  home.  And  the  boys  know  that  he  has  had 
mistresses  since  he  was  married.  Richard,  how- 
ever, does  not  think  any  the  less  of  him  on  that 
account,  for  he  himself  is  just  now  liquidating  a 
liaison  before  contracting  a  marriage.  Never- 
theless, he  and  his  father  have  certain  uncom- 
promising principles  of  honour.  "There  is  one 
thing,"  says  Richard,  "never  to  be  questioned: 
the  honour  of  the  family." 

What  will  result,  in  view  of  this  fact,  if  the 
vivacious  wife  and  mother,  chafing  at  her  hus- 
band's neglect,  asserts  her  "right  to  happiness"? 
She  will  be  obliged  to  flee  with  her  lover,  evidently. 
It  is  less  logical  that  Irene's  lover  proves  to  be  no 
other  than  Georget  de  Chambry,  her  sons'  chum.  ^ 
The  "humming-bird"  explains  her  case  as  a 
springtime  of  love  out  of  season,  comparable  to 
that  of  birds  that  nest  late.  Richard  refuses  to 
judge  his  mother,  but  Rysbergue  tells  Irene,  in 
an  attitude  of  calm  contempt,  that  her  act  of 
desertion,  with  its  offence  against  the  family 
and  society,  shall  never  be  forgiven. 

After  a  two  years'  sojourn  in  Algeria,  where 
Georget  performs  his  military  service,  Irene  leaves 
her  young   idol,  that   he  may  love  a  woman  of 

^  With  the  same  extremes,  Bataille  reverses  the  sexes  in  La 
Vierge  Folle. 


Separation  and  the  Child         289 

his  age.  Her  only  desire  now  is  to  see  Richard's 
baby  and  hve  near  her  children.  Rysbergue, 
though  he  has  not  sought  a  divorce,  refuses  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  her.  But  Richard  receives 
his  mother  and  persuades  his  wife  to  let  her  sta}'' 
with  them.  Nevertheless,  as  the  champion  of  the 
rights  of  the  family,  he  cannot  refrain  from  seeking 
to  make  his  mother  disavow  her  errors:  ''Be- 
tween you  and  me,  you  must  admit,  after  all, 
mother,  that  the  family  has  its  value.  .  .  .  For 
you  are  glad  to  come  back.  .  .  .  And  I  suspect  that 
the  institution  that  you  have  dishonoured  must 
now  seem  pure  and  sacred  to  you."  These  words, 
in  the  light  of  Richard's  and  M.  de  Rysbergue's 
standard  of  morality,  show  Bataille's  sympathy 
for  his  heroine.^  If  he  had  been  a  sermonizer, 
we  should  have  had  a  tirade  against  the  hypocriti- 
cal opposition  to  the  sovereignty  of  Love. 

While  on  this  essential  point  Bataille  and 
Brieux  are  far  from  agreed;  while  interest  with 
Bataille  centres  more  in  the  fate  of  the  eloping 
wife,  and  with  Brieux  in  the  sanctity  of  the  family, 
their  conclusions  are  in  substance  the  same. 
Brieux's  ''deserter,"  it  is  true,  dictates  her  terms 
at  the  end,  whereas  Bataille's  "humming-bird'* 
creeps  in  dragging  one  wing.  But  this  difference 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  For  jot  marries  again,  so 
alienating  the  affection  of  his  child,  whereas 
Rysbergue,  by  not  replacing  his  unfaithful  wife, 

^  This  is  confirmed  by  later  plays  like  La  Marclie  Nuptiale 
and  La  Vierge  Folk. 
'   19J 


290       Brieux  and  French  Society 

holds  his  children's  sympathy.  Considered  from 
the  standpoint  of  merit,  whether  at  the  time  of  her 
elopement  or  the  time  of  her  return,  Gabrielle  is 
not  so  deserving  as  Irene,  yet  she  triumphs  and 
Irene  is  humbled.  Likewise  the  husbands.  Apart 
from  the  matter  of  a  second  marriage,  Rys- 
bergue,  with  his  mistresses,  is  nowise  more  deserv- 
ing than  the  chaste  Forjot;  nevertheless,  he  wins 
and  Forjot  loses.  So  Maman  Colihri  confirms 
the  thesis  of  La  Deserteuse.^ 

While  La  Deserteuse  was  running  at  the  Odeon 
and  spectators  were  applauding  Maman  Colihri 
at  the  Vaudeville,  Henry  Bernstein  brought  out 
Le  Bercail  {The  Fold),  on  the  same  subject,  at  the 
Gymnase. 

Eveline  Landry,  with  a  love  of  things  artistic, 
intolerably  bored  by  the  bourgeois  vulgarity  of 
her  frankly  inartistic  husband,  who  is  seventeen 
years  her  senior,  and  finding  life  still  empty, 
even  after  the  child  comes  that  she  has  yearned 
for,^  seeks  consolation  in  the  captivating  com- 

'  Lucien  Nepoty  goes  even  farther  than  Brieux,  pointing  out 
the  complications  that  are  apt  to  result  from  the  marriage  of 
a  widow  and  a  widower  if  each  has  children  (Les  Pettis,  1912). 
Mme.  Villaret  is  obliged  to  bear  the  silent  reproaches  of  her 
children  for  replacing  their  father,  and,  drawn  back  and  forth 
between  two  factions,  she  exclaims  in  despair:  "II  va  falloir 
que  je  dechire  une  des  moiti^s  de  moi-meme."  In  a  moment 
of  serious  reflection  she  tells  her  second  husband  that  children 
have  a  right  to  be  a'uel  and  that  she  should  have  sacrificed  her 
happiness  to  her  children's  welfare. 

^Maurice  Donnay's  heroine  says  to  her  husband:  "Je  vous 
aurais  ^te  fidele,  je  vous  le  jure,  si  vous  aviez  ^t^  un  brave  et 


Separation  and  the  Child         291 

pany  of  Jacques  Foucher,  a  novelist.  When  her 
husband,  becoming  jealous,  requests  Foucher  to 
discontinue  his  visits,  Eveline  elopes  with  him, 
abandoning  her  little  son  without  a  regret.  ^  But 
the  two  lovers  quarrel.  Foucher  says  to  the 
"  deserter" :  ''  Our  trouble  is  due  to  your  romantic 
disposition.  You  expect  gifts  which  Providence 
does  not  bestow."''  At  the  end  of  four  years, 
finding  intolerable  her  novelist's  artistic  life  and 
the  companions  it  necessitates,  Eveline  leaves  him, 
informing  her  husband  of  the  change.  Landry 
in  the  meantime,  though  divorced  and  urged  by 
his  maiden  sister,  who  hates  Eveline,  to  marry 
again,  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  his  wife 
was  not  entirely  to  blame.  When  he  discovers 
her  in  his  house  visiting  their  child  secretly, 
he  allows  her  to  stay. 

This  play  we  have  already  referred  to^  for  its 
treatment  of  the  life  of  artists,  which,  in  picturing 

digne  homme ;  mais  ce  sont  vos  idees  bourgeoises  et  mesquines  .  .  . 
et  votre  ame  vulgaire  et  pleutre,  oui,  c'est  tout  cela  qui  a  cree  un 
abime  entre  nous."     Le  Torrent,  iv,  4. 

^  When  Helene  Chazel  implores  her  lover  to  elope  with  her, 
he  says:  "You  forget  your  child.  There  is  no  objection  to 
taking  a  wife  from  her  husband,  but  a  mother  from  her 
son,  never! "  Paul  Bourget,  Un  Crime  d' Amour  (1886),  ch. 
vii. 

^  Emile  Faguet  diagnoses  correctly  the  case  of  all  women  like 
Eveline  Landry.  "Nul  homme,"  he  observes,  "ne  peut  donner 
a  une  femme  la  satisfaction  de  I'esprit  romanesque,  excepte  un 
romancier  et  seulement  par  ses  Hvres,  et  encore  il  ne  fait  que 
I'exciter  et  ne  le  satisfait  point."     Flaubert,  p.  91. 

3  Chapter  III. 


292       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  Boliemian  companions  of  Jacques  Foucher, 
we  saw  that  it  caricatured  grossly.     Apart  from 
this  exaggeration,   few  defects  can  be  found  in 
Le  Bercail.     A  masterly  scene  between   Landry 
and  his  old  maid  sister  in  the  last  act  compares 
favourably  with  anything  in  the  recent  French 
drama.     And    Eveline,    although   her   conversion 
is  a   bit    overdrawn,  is    as    lifelike    as    Gabrielle 
or  Irene.      Bataille's  heroine  does   not  state  her 
regrets  explicitly,  because  she  enjoys  the  author*s 
sympathy;     but    Eveline,     sincerely    repentant, 
pleads  guilty   and  admits  the  absurdity  of  her 
romantic    dreams.'     Her    supplications    are    due 
particularly  to  Landry's  matrimonial  negotiations, 
which    threaten    to   render    a   reconciliation    im- 
possible.    If   she   desired   no   reconciliation,    she 
would  favour  his  second  marriage,  in  order  to  sow 
discord  between  him  and  their  child.     Gabrielle, 
it  will  be  remembered,  prefers  to  live  with  Ra- 
mett37-,  after  her  place  is  taken  by  Helene,  but 
realizes  the  impossibility  of  keeping  her  daughter 
with  her.     All  three  dramatists  conclude  that  a 
mother  who  abandons  her  child  runs  the  risk  of 
finding  her  place  taken,    and    must   pay  dearly 
for    her    escapade,    unless   her    husband    marries 
again.     Brieux  and  Bernstein  consider  this  only 
justice,    whereas   Bataille   regrets   the   hypocrisy 
which  denies  to  the  woman  equal  freedom  with 

^  The  profound  change  that  has  come  about  in  Eveline  recalls 
Augier's  heroine  in  Gabrielle  (1849),  who  exclaims  in  the  final 
line:     "0.  pere  de  famille!  6  poete!  je  t'aime! " 


Separation  and  the  Child         293 

the  man.  ^  As  regards  the  consequences  of  a 
second  marriage  by  the  abandoned  father,  Bern- 
stein impHes  that  by  marrying  again  Landry 
would  have  incurred  EveHne's  enmity  and  pro- 
bably also  the  hostility  of  their  child. 

Two  novels,  which  have  recently  studied  the 
question  of  the  sanctity  of  the  family,  are  even 
more  emphatic  than  these  dramas  in  asserting 
that  parents  must  stifle  their  own  misunder- 
standings for  the  sake  of  their  children.^  Rene 
Bazin's  Madame  Corentine  (1893)  does  not  discuss 
divorce,  for  that  possibility  does  not  enter  into 
consideration  with  Bazin  and  his  sturdy  Catholic 
compatriots  of  Brittany.  ^  But  even  with  them 
the  separation  of  married  people  is  possible  "*; 
and  it  is  particularly  the  heartache  caused  to  an 

^  The  double  standard  is,  unfortunately,  as  old  as  civilization 
itself.  L.  Bertrand,  speaking  of  social  conditions  in  Numidia 
in  the  time  of  Saint  Augustine,  says:  "Husbands  are  found 
claiming  a  right  to  free  love  for  themselves,  while  they  force 
their  wives  to  conjugal  fidelity.  The  adultery  they  allow  them- 
selves, they  punish  with  death  in  their  wives."  Saint  Augustin, 
pt.  V. 

^  When  Brieux's  Mme.  Logerais  discovered  that  her  husband 
was  "flirting"  with  their  clerks,  "elle  a  eu  un  chagrin  de  tous  les 
diables.  Elle  voulait  quitter  son  mari.  Si  elle  est  restec,  c'est 
a  cause  de  son  fils."     La  Petite  Amie,  ii,  3. 

3  Pierre  Navaille,  a  pupil  at  the  lycee,  is  haunted  by  the  fear 
that  his  parents  will  get  a  divorce.  Les  Grands,  by  P.  Veber  and 
S.  Basset. 

4  Technically  speaking,  however,  separation  in  France  now 
virtually  amounts  to  divorce,  since,  according  to  a  recent  law, 
"apres  trois  ans  I'un  ou  I'autre  epoux  peut  demander  que  le 
jugement  de  separation  soit  converti  de  piano  en  jugement  de 
divorce."     E.  Stoullig,  Annales,  1909,  p.  189. 


294       Brieux  and  French  Society 

affectionate  child  by  the  separation  of  its  parents 
that  Bazin  studies.  The  daughter  exclaims  to 
her  father,  in  discussing  her  mother's  return: 
"If  you  only  knew  how  sad  it  is  to  love  you  both 
and  always  live  far  from  one  of  you  I"  The  fact 
that  the  trouble  is  stirred  up  by  the  husband's 
mother,  who  has  never  liked  her  daughter-in- 
law,  introduces  a  peculiar  element  into  this  work. 
In  Henry  Bordeaux's,  Les  Yeux  qui  s'ouvrent 
{Eyes  that  Open,  1907),  on  the  other  hand, 
the  husband's  mother,  a  woman  of  the  noblest 
character,  is  the  peacemaker,  when  his  beautiful 
wife,  Elisabeth,  after  eight  years  of  married  life, 
flees  on  account  of  his  infidelity,  with  her  two 
children,  to  her  parents  and  asks  the  court  for  a 
legal  separation.  The  husband's  mother  argues 
that  separation  and  divorce  are  nearly  always 
due  to  misunderstanding  and  our  failure  to 
"open  our  eyes"  in  time  to  the  truths  of  life. 
After  his  reconciliation  with  Elisabeth,  the  hus- 
band writes  in  his  diary:  "In  my  opinion, 
children  make  a  marriage  indissoluble.  The 
object  of  marriage  is  not  the  happiness  of  husband 
and  wife.  It  is  the  founding  of  a  family ;  it  is  the 
child."  ^ 

^  Lucien  Descaves's  comedy,  La  P referee  (1906),  takes  the  view 
that  very  often  divorce  leads  to  disappointment  for  the  parents 
and  injures  the  future  of  their  children.  Henri  Charlier,  a  man 
employed  at  the  Colonial  Office,  discovers  that  his  "favourite" 
daughter  is  not  his  daughter.  Resolved  to  sue  for  a  divorce,  he 
places  his  case  in  the  hands  of  Maltre  Monestier,  who,  to  his 
surprise,  does  not  encourage  him. 


Separation  and  the  Child         295 

When  Brieux  returned  five  years  after  La  De- 
serteuse  to  the  theme  of  divorce  in  its  relation  to 
children,  he  varied  his  earlier  treatment  of  it  by 
introducing  the  element  conspicuous  in  Rene 
Bazin's  Madame  Corentine — the  unwarranted  in- 
fluence of  parents  over  their  married  children.  In 
Suzette,  a  three-act  play  produced  at  the  Vaudeville 
in  1909,  it  is  the  machinations  of  the  huvsband's 
mother  which  threaten  to  break  up  the  home  of  the 
twelve-year-old  girl  who  gives  her  name  to  the  piece. 

The  play  opens  in  the  provincial  home  of  M. 
Chambert,  a  retired  magistrate.  Henri,  a  son 
living  in  Paris,  and  his  daughter,  Suzette,  are 
expected  for  a  visit.  All  idolize  Suzette;  but 
Henri's  mother  and  old  maid  sister,  Monique,  de- 
test the  wife,  Regine.  Besides  charging  her  with 
pride,  extravagance,  and  religious  indifference, 
they  blame  her  for  inducing  Henri  to  take  govern- 
ment contracts.  Their  hostility  causes  unpleasant 
scenes  every  time  Regine  visits  them.  M.  Cham- 
bert had  opposed  the  marriage,  because  Regine's 
father,  a  former  seaman,  was  inferior  in  rank  to  a 
judge;  but  now  he  urges  his  wife  and  daughter 
to  make  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain. 

"  Char  Her:     And  so  you  are  not  a  partisan  of  divorce? 

"  Monestier:  Nothing  more  natural  than  that  divorce  should 
be  inscribed  in  the  Code.  Marriage  must  not  make  prisoners  of 
man  and  wife.  But  for  a  certain  few  who  bless  their  deliverer 
...  I  hear  murmurs  of  disappointment  from  many  others." 

Charlier  sees  his  contemplated  action  in  a  new  light  when 
his  legitimate  daughter  points  out  how  divorce  between  him 
and  her  mother  would  affect  her  engagement. 


296       Brieux  and  French  Society 

There  appears  new  reason  to  detest  Regine 
when  Henri  arrives  with  Suzette,  whom  he  has 
brought  from  boarding-school;  for  he  accuses 
Regine  of  intimacy  with  another  man  and  declares 
that  he  will  seek  a  divorce.  Mme.  Chambert  and 
Monique  seize  the  opportunity  to  force  the  de- 
tested intruder  out  of  the  family  and  obtain  the  cus- 
tody of  Suzette.  They  paint  Regine's  character 
in  the  blackest  colours.  Henri,  who  admits  that 
he  has  never  had  a  v/ill  of  his  own,  would  now 
pardon  Regine  rather  than  air  a  scandal;  but 
even  his  sober-minded  father  tells  him  that  the 
unfaithful  wife  would  commit  a  new  offence. 
The  Chamberts  take  for  granted  that  Henri's 
immaculate  character  will  afford  his  wife  no  ground 
for  complaint.  But  here  Regine  has  two  surprises 
for  them :  she  can  prove  that  her  husband  has  had 
a  mistress;  also  that,  in  order  to  get  inferior  articles 
accepted,  he  has  forged  the  government's  0.  K. 
stamp.  On  the  other  hand,  she  is  in  reality  inno- 
cent, for,  although  in  a  fit  of  foolish  anger  she  has 
said  to  her  husband:  ''Yes,  I  have  a  lover!'* 
such  is  not  the  case. 

In  Act  II,  which  takes  place  at  the  house  of 
Regine' s  father  in  Paris,  Regine  brings  Suzette 
home  from  boarding-school,  in  order  to  obtain 
temporary  custody  of  her  daughter  and  so  exert 
pressure  upon  the  Chamberts.  In  the  principal 
scene,  Henri  and  Regine  discuss  their  differences. 
She  makes  a  sincere  apolog^^  for  her  thoughtless- 
ness in  flirting  with  another  man  and  promises 


Separation  and  the  Child         297 

that  nothing  of  the  kind  shall  occur  again.  Never- 
theless, Henri,  afraid  to  disobey  his  mother  and 
Monique,  declares  that  pardon  is  impossible, 
though  Regine^s  threats  to  expose  his  faults 
frighten  him.  Regine  fails  also  in  her  appeal 
to*'Mme.  Chambert  for  an  amicable '  settlement 
in  the  name  of  Suzette.  Armed  with  the  authority 
of  the  law,  the  Chamberts  take  Suzette  from  her 
mother  by  force. 

When  in  the  last  act  Henri's  father  hears  about 
his  fraudulent  business  tactics,  he  is  almost  pros- 
trated, despite  the  efforts  of  Monique  and  her 
mother  to  justify  the  use  of  the  government  stamp. 
Meanwhile  the  cynical  accusations  contemplated 
by  Henri's  attorney  against  Regine  produce  a 
revolting  effect  upon  him.  The  denouement  is 
precipitated  by  the  bigoted  grandmother,  who  has 
employed  all  her  ingenuity  to  alienate  Suzette' s 
affection  from  her  mother;  at  her  dictation  the 
little  girl  has  been  obliged  to  write  the  crudest 
letters  to  her.  Unable  longer  to  endure  this 
persecution,  Regine  offers  to  discontinue  the 
struggle  if  they  will  promise  not  to  torture  Suzette 
any  more.  Henri  and  his  father,  who  desire  a 
peaceful  settlement,  now  meet  Regine  half  way, 
and  they  soon  reach  a  reconciliation.  M.  Cham- 
bert, who  here  speaks  in  the  author's  name,  says 
to  his  wife,  as  he  points  to  Suzette  and  her  parents : 
"Father,  Mother,  and  Child  form  a  sacred  Trinity. 
Nothing  must  be  allowed  to  separate  them." 

Obviously  the  problems  of  Suzette  are  whether 


298       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Henri  will  have  the  courage  to  emancipate  himself 
from  his  family's  influence,  and  if  not,  whether 
Regine  will  play  her  two  long  suits  against  him, 
in  order  to  assert  her  inalienable  rights  to  her 
child.  All  depends  on  their  consideration  for 
Suzette. '  It  might  be  objected,  then,  that  the 
play  only  treats  with  variations  the  subject  of 
Le  Berceau  and  La  Deserteuse,  and  also  that  with 
the  importance  of  Henri's  struggle  between  duty 
to  his  wife  and  duty  to  his  mother  and  sister,  the 
play  lacks  unity. 

Though  there  is  validity  in  these  objections, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  author  has  constructed  his 
play  out  of  totally  new  material ;  not  a  character, 
dramatic  situation,  or  incident  in  Suzette  recalls 
Le  Berceau  or  La  Deserteuse,  And.  the  two 
branches  of  the  theme  are  at  least  very  closely 
related.  Besides,  the  question  of  Henri's  duty 
towards  his  mother,  which  brings  up  the  idea 
of  domestic  education  treated  in  La  Couveey  is 
subordinated  to  the  question  of  the  duty  of  parents 
towards  young  children.  Moreover,  since  Brieux 
makes  Regine  worthy  of  the  reader's  sympathy, 
he  brings  out  more  emphatically  here  than  in 
La  Deserteuse,  ^  where  Gabrielle  does  not  command 
sympathy,  a  mother's  rights  with  her  child.  We 
shall  see  when  we  come  to  La  Robe  Rouge,  ^  in  the 

^  Brieux  at  first  called  this  play  "La  plus  Forte,"  so  implying 
the  decisive  influence  of  the  child,  or  the  "link,"  as  Strindberg 
expresses  it.  ^  Act  III,  sc.  7. 

3  Act  IV,  sc.  6.  In  La  Petite  Amie  (iii,  6),  Brieux  takes  another 
shot  at  this  objectionable  Article  of  the  Code. 


Separation  and  the  Child         299 

case  of  a  woman,  Yanetta,  whose  husband,  with 
some  reason,  wanted  to  take  their  children  from 
her,  that  Brieux  had  already  hinted  at  the  same 
thesis. 

Siizette  could  very  well  bear  greater  faults  of 
structure  than  it  does,  because  of  its  excellence  in 
one  essential  quality.  Just  as  the  weakness  of 
the  characters  constitutes  the  chief  fault  of  La 
Deserteiise,  their  naturalness  and  originality  assure 
Suzette  high  rank;  after  La  Robe  Rouge,  it  is 
Brieux's  best  character  play.  The  little  heroine, 
her  cruel  grandmother,  and  "tante  Monique** 
are  worthy  to  be  classed  with  "pere  Rousset" 
in  Blanchette.  Less  successful,  but  drawn  with  a 
trained  hand,  are  Henri,  Regine,  and  M.  Chambert. 
It  is  rare  that  we  find  six  characters  so  strong  in 
one  play.  ^ 

**Mme.  Logerais:  I  certainly  have  some  right  in  the  matter; 
I  am  the  mother. 

"Logerais:  You  are  the  mother,  truly  enough,  but  before  the 
Law,  you  are  of  no  consequence." 

^  A  drama  combining  in  theme  Suzette  and  Hervieu's  La  Loi 
de  I'Homme  is  Son  Pere  (1907),  by  Albert  Guinon  and  Albert 
Bouchinet.  Mme.  Orsier  obtains  a  divorce  from  her  unfaithful 
husband  and  the  custody  of  their  daughter,  Jeanne.  After 
completely  neglecting  his  daughter  during  an  eighteen  years' 
sojourn  abroad,  Orsier  returns  and  demands  that  Jeanne  stay 
with  him  a  part  of  the  time.  With  indignation  her  mother 
exclaims:  "Non,  monsieur,  non!  On  ne  s'improvise  pas  tout  a 
coup  le  p^re  d'une  jeune  fille  dont  on  a  delaisse  I'enfance!" 
(iv,  6).  But  "man's  law"  prevails.  Jeanne,  after  grieving  her 
mother  deeply  by  her  affection  for  her  father,  succeeds  in  recon- 
ciling the  parents.  Thus  we  infer  that  Mme.  Orsier  should 
not  have  obtained  a  divorce. 


300       Brieux  and  French  Society 

From  the  works  that  we  have  analysed  dealing 
with  the  rights  of  the  child  and  its  conciliating 
influence  when  divorce  threatens  or  has  come,  it 
appears  that  with  this  problem  may  be  considered 
others,  such  as  woman's  alleged  **  right  to  happi- 
ness," her  maternal  rights,  and  the  behaviour  of 
parents  and  parents-in-law;  for  all  these  matters 
have  a  close  relation  to  divorce  and  matrimonial 
differences. 

As  regards  the  main  problem,  Brieux  is  by  all 
odds  the  child's  staunchest  friend  and  most 
persistent  advocate.  He  would  compel  an  inno- 
cent victim  like  Forjot  to  subordinate  his  own 
happiness  to  the  welfare  of  his  child.  The  cele- 
brated phrase,  "woman's  right  to  happiness," 
which  came  into  such  prominence  about  1890, 
thanks  to  individualism  and  the  "poets  of  the 
North,"  and  which  was  exploited  by  the  comedie 
rosse,  still  finds  support  in  Bataille.  ^  The  other 
authors  whom  we  have  considered,  particularly 
Brieux,  all  favour  what  they  term  woman's 
legitimate  aspirations.  But  there  they  would 
draw  the  line.^     No  one  goes  beyond  Brieux  in 

^  In  works  of  Donnay,  the  Marguerittes,  Capus,  Coolus,  and 
Jules  Case,  which  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  summarize,  the  idea 
also  finds  support. 

^  On  matriarchism,  a  subject  which  occupies  the  attention  of 
sociologists  more  and  more,  Auguste  Forel  says:  "It  is  evident 
that  in  the  conditions  of  modem  civiUzation  we  cannot  return 
to  matriarchism  in  its  primitive  sense.  .  .  .  Apart  from  denomi- 
nation in  the  maternal  line,  I  mean,  by  matriarchism,  the  legal 
privilege  of  the  management  of  the  family  conferred  on  the  wife. 


Separation  and  the  Child         301 

upholding  maternal  rights  when  the  child  is  in 
dispute. '  As  to  the  meddling  of  parents  in  their 
married  children's  family  affairs,  it  is  not  a  new 
idea.  Brieux  and  Bazin,  however,  give  it  rather 
a  new  turn  by  representing  the  grandchild  as  the 
innocent  victim,  and  so  add  force  to  their  condem- 
nation of  a  person  who  allows  his  parents  to 
break  up  his  family.  ^ 

Nothing  in  all  these  works  dealing  with  separa- 
tion and  the  child  is  more  interesting  than  the 
increasing  tendency  to  decide  the  questions 
involved  according  to  that  general  principle 
emphasized  by  Brieux  from  the  time  of  Menages 
d' Artistes  (1890),  that  the  parent  is  of  less  conse- 
quence than  the  offspring.  This  altruism  will 
probably  hold  a  place  in  literary  history  as  one 
of  the  glories  of  French  thought  in  the  closing 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

who  is  in  reality  the  centre  of  the  family."     The  Sexual  Question, 

V-  523- 

^  Hervieu,  in  La  Loi  de  I'Homme  (1897),  is  scarcely  less  out- 
spoken. 

^  Henry  Bernsteia  touches  on  this  theme  in  Le  Detour. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ADULTERY  AND   THE  THEORY   OF  PARDON 

Simone  (Brieux) — Un  Crime  d' Amour  (Bourget) 
—  Le  Pardon  (Lemaitre)  —  La  Petite  Paroisse 
(Daudet) — La  Tourmente  (Margueritte) — UEnigme 
(Hervieu) — Le  Torrent  (Donnay) — V Adversaire 
(Capus) — V Enfant  Malade  (Coolus). 

HAS  one  a  right  to  shed  blood  because  of  a  be- 
trayal in  love?  This  right  has  been  pro- 
claimed by  a  thousand  dramas  and  ten  thousand 
novels  in  which  abandoned  mistresses  or  enraged 
lovers  have  exacted  vengeance  with  the  applause  of 
the  public.  ^  But  an  examination  of  both  literature 
and  facts  will  show  that  here,  just  as  in  many 
other  social  questions,  opinion — at  least  of  writers 
of  fiction — has  changed.  It  was  only  natural 
that  sooner  or  later  Brieux  should  treat  the  ques- 
tion, because  of  its  prominence  in  French  litera- 
ture. Simone,  produced  the  year  before  Suzette, 
is  the  play  in  which  he  expresses  his  views  of  the 
matter.  Since  the  theme  usually  involves  con- 
jugal unfaithfulness — often,  as  in  Simone,  with 
consequent  suffering  for  the  child — it  may  pro- 
fitably be  considered  here,  immediately  after  our 

^R.  Doumic,  Deux  Mondes,  Nov.  15,  1901. 

302 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon    303 

study  of  recent  French  literary  opinion  regarding 
divorce. 

Sixty  years  ago,  during  the  period  of  strong  re- 
action against  romanticism,  sentiment  in  dramatic 
literature  was  almost  unanimous  with  regard  to 
the  action  imposed  upon  a  "deceived"  husband. 
According  to  the  accepted  code,  he  had  to  avenge 
his  honour.'  Twenty  years  later,  men  of  letters 
began  to  ask  themselves  whether  there  might  not 
be  some  other  solution.  Quite  overshadowing 
the  other  opinions  expressed,  came,  however,  the 
energetic  and  uncompromising  "  Tue-la!^^  of  Dumas 
Jils^  which  he  proceeded  to  support  with  persuasive 
eloquence  and  all  the  authority  of  his  prestige. 
But  no  author's  efforts  could  stem  the  tide  sweep- 
ing onward  in  glorification  of  illicit  love.  For  not 
only  romanticism,  but  most  of  the  romantic  and 
realistic  fiction  from  George  Sand  to  Paul  Bourget 
and  Marcel  Prevost,  employed  every  ingenious 
device,  in  order  to  poetize  adultery  and  adorn  it 
with  irresistible  seduction.  Thanks  to  the  infinite 
charm  of  Gallic  grivoiserie,  French  authors  were 
able  to  keep  their  readers  constantly  under  the 
spell  of  idealized  adultery.  ^^     If,  then,  we  recall 

^  Instances  of  death  for  infidelity,  between  1850  and  1882, 
are:  Diane  de  Lys,  Le  Manage  d'Olympe,  L' Affaire  Clemenceau, 
Froufrou,  La  Femme  de  Claude,  Serge  Panine. 

^  So  they  did,  too,  all  through  the  Middle  Ages,  after  Chre- 
tien de  Troyes  and  other  twelfth-century  romancers  had  glorified 
the  adulterous  amours  of  Iseult  and  Guinevere.  Adultery  was 
the  cornerstone  of  the  famous  mediasval  institution  of  amour 
courtois. 


304       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  fact  that  love  is  the  indispensable  and  ever- 
recurring  theme,  not  only  of  the  novel,  but  also 
of  the  drama,  the  influence  which  even  purely 
romantic  literature  must  eventually  have  on 
manners  and  public  opinion,  is  evident.^  For  a 
reader's  constant  literary  food,  be  it  never  so 
fanciful  and  absurd,  gradually  produces  a  certain 
conviction  in  his  mind.  The  result  of  this  un- 
conscious influence  became  apparent  by  1895, 
when  the  reading  public  may  be  said  to  have 
accepted  the  poetic  theory  of  adultery  as  a  dogma. 
In  this  year,  Paul  Monceaux,  a  prominent  critic, 
wrote : 

A  compassionate  wind  of  Evangelical  indulgence  is 
blowing  in  the  Gallic  land.  Vaudeville  writers,  critics, 
and  naturalistic  novelists  are  being  spectacularly 
converted  to  the  religion  of  mercy.  You  need  have 
no  fear,  strayed  sheep:  Dumas's  stern  command  is 
no  longer  in  vogue.     Apres  lafaute,  on  pleure  ensemble 

^  Rene  Doumic,  while  not  attempting  to  justify  the  predomi- 
nance of  love  in  French  literature,  explains  this  predominance  in 
fiction.  "It  is  almost  exclusively  of  love,"  he  says,  "that  the 
novel  treats.  This  fact  constantly  calls  forth  protest,  since 
there  are  so  many  other  grave  things  in  life.  .  .  .  But  from  both 
the  philosopher's  and  the  naturalist's  standpoint,  love,  which 
perpetuates  life,  is  man's  grande  affaire.  On  it  everything  de- 
pends. .  .  .  Hence  the  cries  of  pain,  of  anger,  and  of  hate 
which  fill  books  only  because  they  are  the  cries  of  mankind  tor- 
tured by  love.  Hence  it  happens  that  ever  since  novels  and 
dramatic  works  have  been  written,  they  seem  to  have  been  in- 
vented only  for  studying  the  eternal  problem  of  adultery  from 
every  conceivable  point  of  view."     Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  15,  1894. 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon     305 

et  Von  s'embrasse.    Apres  la  fuite,  on  rentre  emue  et 

roiigissarite  aux  bras  du  Bon  Pasteur. '^ 

It  required  as  many  successive  steps  to  formu- 
late this  "theory  of  pardon"  in  the  drama  as 
there  are  gradations  between  the  uncompromising 
attitude  of  a  Dumas  and  the  extreme  indulgence 
advocated  by  a  Romain  Coolus  of  the  present 
day.  The  first  "Evangelical"  concession  on  the 
part  of  the  husband  was  to  spare  the  adulteress's 
life,  while  still  refusing  pardon.  Paul  Mar- 
gueritte's  Therese  is  permitted  to  live,  but  her 
husband  finds  pardon  impossible.  He  would  even 
have  Idlled  her  if  he  had  surprised  her  with 
her  lover.  ^  Jules  Lemaitre's  Georges  pardons 
Suzanne,  but  only  after  he  has  himself  committed 
adultery.^  The  great  obstacle  to  pardon  thus 
far  was  naturally  the  husband's  jealousy,  which 
it  was  not  in  his  power  to  overcome.  But  the 
fertile  imas^ination  that  immortalized  Tartarin  and 
conceived  the  charming  story  of  Jack,  succeeded 
in  eliminating  this  obstacle,  thanks  to  an  ingenious 
invention,  so  that  Richard  grants  Lydie  a  complete 
and  sincere  pardon.  "^ 

Now  complete  pardon  for  past  offences,  with 
the  implied  liberty  to  form  a  new  liaison  at  will, 
was  supposed  to  be  the  goal.  The  exacting 
heroines  of  a  Hervieu,  a  Donnay,  a  Capus,  or  a 
Jules  Case  would  probably  all  content  themselves 

^  Rev.  Bleiie,  Feb.  2t„  1895.         ^  La  Tourmefite  (1893). 
3  Le  Pardon  (1895).  ^  La  Petite  Paroisse  (1895). 


3o6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

with  these  concessions,  for  the  present,  at  least. 
But  such  champions  of  "woman's  right  to  happi- 
ness'* as  Henry  Bataille  and  Romain  Coolus,  in 
their  eagerness  to  anticipate  their  heroines'  desires 
recognize  no  particular  goal.  Jacques  du  Tillet, 
speaking  of  the  compassionate  husband  and 
the  wife  in  Coolus' s  V Enfant  Malade,  says: 

He  not  only  pardons,  but  encourages  new  aspira- 
tions. ...  If  he  himself  cannot  make  her  happy, 
he  will  withdraw  in  favour  of  others.  He  offers 
advice  and  suggestions  to  this  end.  If  the  first  lover 
is  not  perfect,  a  second  will  be  found,  then  a  third. 
.  .  .  But  above  everything  else,  the  dear  little  enfant 
malade  must  be  happy.  ^ 

Now  we  may  infer  from  certain  of  the  defiant 
retorts  of  Julie  Dupont,  which  voice  the  author's 
sentiments,^  that  Brieux  can  at  times  be  an  out- 
spoken feminist.  In  Maternite,  six  years  later, 
he  condemns  the  egotism  and  hypocrisy  of  man 
and  demands  fairer  play  for  woman.  Again, 
after  championing  the  inalienable  natural  rights 
of  a  mother  {Suzette,  1909),  he  denounces  the 
jealous  tyranny  of  men  in  denying  women  the 
right  of  free  competition  in  the  struggle  for  a 
livelihood.  ^  In  view  of  this  just  and  sympathetic 
attitude  towards  women,  what  will  be  Brieux's 
verdict  if  a  man  surprises  his  wife  with  her  lover 

*  Rev.  Bleue,  May  26,  1900. 

^  Les  Trots  Filles  de  M.  Dupont. 

3 La  Femme  Seule  {igi;^).  .^. 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon    307 

in  his  own  house?  Will  he  think  pardon  better 
than  punishment,  and  if  so,  will  he  find  a  more 
just  reason  for  pardon  than  the  woman's  own 
happiness?  This  is  the  question  in  his  Simone, 
produced  in  1908. 

M.  de  Sergeae  and  his  wife  have  been  found  in  a 
room  of  their  chateau,  each  pierced  by  a  bullet. 
The  husband,  Edouard,  has  recovered,  but  his 
memory  is  temporarily  paralysed  from  the  shock 
he  has  received  in  falling.  Inasmuch  as  the  couple 
have  always  lived  happily  together,  nobod}^  can 
explain  the  tragedy.  But  time  solves  the  mystery. 
The  husband's  wound  having  healed,  his  father, 
his  father-in-law,  M.  de  Lorsy,  the  family  physi- 
cian, and  a  member  of  the  bar  take  the  matter  up. 
A  recapitulation  of  the  facts,  which  develop  into 
an  intensely  dramatic  situation,  makes  an  ideal 
exposition.  Systematically  questioned  by  the 
doctor,  Sergeae  gradually  reconstitutes  the  gap 
in  his  memory.^  He  had  spent  the  day  hunting 
with  a  neighbour,  a  chum  of  his  youth,  who  took 
him  to  the  railway  station.  Sergeae  intended  to 
take  the  train  for  Paris,  in  order  to  bring  back 
his  little  daughter.  But,  suspecting  his  friend's 
loyalty,  he  decided  at  the  last  moment  to  return 
home,  where  his  suspicions  were  confirmed.  In 
his  rage,  he  fired  upon  the  lovers,  killing  his  wife. 

*  The  laboratory  experiment  in  Augier's  Un  Beau  Mariage 
(1859)  set  the  standard  for  such  scenes.  A  similar  situation  is 
found  in  Mirbeau's  Les  Mauvais  Bergers  (1897).  Cf.  Le  Crime 
d'un  Fils  (1905),  by  Maurice  Lef^vre. 


3o8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

His  attempted  suicide  failed.  The  chum  escaped 
but  took  his  own  Hfe  shortly  afterwards.  When, 
in  the  chain  of  recollections  the  catastrophe  is 
reached,  the  grief-stricken  father-in-law  wants 
to  take  Sergeac  by  the  throat.  Sergeac  feels 
that  his  deed  was  horrible  but  justifiable;  though 
had  he  himself  been  able  to  realize  the  conse- 
quences of  the  act  to  his  child,  he  might  not  have 
fired  the  fatal  vshot.  Here  again  Brieux  makes 
important  the  innocent  child's  fate. 

At  the  opening  of  Act  II,  fifteen  years  have 
passed.  Sergeac  has  idealized  his  unfaithful 
wife  to  Simone,  who  believes  that  her  mother  met 
her  death  on  a  hunting-party.  She  is  devoted  to 
her  maternal  grandfather,  who  idolizes  her  but 
still  cannot  pardon  Sergeac.  Sergeac  constantly 
broods  over  his  tragedy  and  fears  that  his  daughter 
may  discover  the  secret.  The  dreaded  crisis 
bursts  forth  from  an  unexpected  quarter. 

Simone  is  engaged  to  Michel  Alignier,  a  young 
philosopher.  Michel's  father,  having  learned  the 
truth  about  Mme.  de  Sergeac' s  death,  breaks  the 
engagement.  The  young  woman  presses  her 
father  for  an  explanation  and  draws  from  him  the 
admission  that  he  is  to  blame.  The  daughter 
promises  to  let  the  matter  drop;  but  the  force 
of  circumstances  is  stronger  than  her  will.  ^     Hav- 

^  As  Simone's  questions  approach  their  climax,  they  become  a 
torturing  ordeal  for  her  father,  Henry  Bernstein,  who  excels  in 
inquisitional  dialogue,  has  given  the  model  in  Le  Voleur  and 
Israel.  We  find  a  similar  scene  in  U Obstacle  (Daudet),  Le  Pardon 
(Lemaitre),  Pierre  et  Therese  (Prevost),  and  UEnigme  (Hervieu). 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon    309 

ing  succeeded  in  wresting  the  secret  from  a  faithful 
old  servant,  Simone  resolves  to  leave  her  father, 
whose  blood-stained  hands  she  abhors.  Quite 
forgetting  their  former  spirit  of  comradeship,  she 
reproaches  him  for  wrecking  her  life.  Even  after 
the  intervention  of  her  fiance,  who  purposes  to 
keep  the  engagement  in  spite  of  his  father's 
opposition,  Simone  still  refuses  to  yield.  Finally, 
however,  when  her  father,  on  his  knees,  implores 
her  to  pardon  him,  she  relents,  and  with  the 
approval  of  M.  de  Lorsy,  rushes  into  his  arms. 

The  play  is  not  without  technical  faults.  Si- 
mone's  change  of  attitude — first  in  condemning 
her  father,  then  in  pardoning  his  crime — seems 
abrupt,  if  not  forced  and  unnatural.  Without 
making  the  play  too  long,  three  or  four  more 
scenes  would  have  given  greater  consistency  to  the 
heroine's  character.  The  desirability  of  such  a 
lengthening  is  implied  by  Paul  Flat,  who  calls  the 
problem  of  the  third  act  a  ^^donnee  de  roman.*' 
A  novelist,  with  unlimited  space  at  his  disposal, 
could  have  blended  the  transitions  leading  up 
to  the  denouement  so  cleverly  as  to  have  made 
their  objectionable  features  imperceptible.  A 
hint  here  and  there  in  Act  II  would  have  facili- 
tated this  by  preparing  us  for  the  heroine's 
subsequent  caprices. 

After  all,  Simone's  inconsistency  lies  not  so 
much  in  her  obstinate  refusal  to  pardon  her  father 
as  in  her  initial  abandonment  of  their  cordial 
relations  for  hostility.     Scarcely  one  young  woman 


310       Brieux  and  French  Society 

in  a  thousand,  after  fifteen  years  of  perfect 
fellowship  with  her  father,  would  turn  upon  him 
suddenly  for  the  reasons  which  cause  Simone  to 
turn,  especially  since  her  love  for  Michel  is  only  too 
obviously  manufactured  for  the  occasion.  The 
real  reason  for  Simone' s  disconcerting  attitude 
must  be  sought  in  the  requirements  of  the  theme. 
Critics  have  complimented  the  author  on  what 
they  term  his  abandonment,  in  Simone^  of  his 
didactic  tendencies.  But  in  reality  the  thesis 
causes  as  great  mischief  in  this  play  as  in  any 
other,  unless  it  be  Les  Avaries.  Or  perhaps  we 
should  say  that  in  no  other  play  by  Brieux  is  the 
chief  defect  due  more  directly  to  didactic  necessity. 
Paul  Flat's  comment  is  eminently  just: 

A  first  act  of  a  soberness  and  a  dramatic  vigour 
not  yet  shown  by  the  author  in  any  other  work.  A 
second  act  in  delicate  shades  and  tints  of  human 
feeling,  but  already  drifting  near  the  danger  line 
towards  the  end.  A  third  which  on  the  whole  moved 
in  a  direction  contrary  to  the  sentiment  of  the  audi- 
ence, because  of  its  harshness.  ^ 

Notwithstanding  its  faults,  Simone  is  a  drama 
of  great  power.  The  undulating  richness  of  its 
style  is  admirably  suited  to  a  psychological  theme. 
Nothing  else  that  the  author  has  produced  equals 
its  broad,  humane  spirit.  Brieux's  conclusion: 
"A  murder  is  a  murder,  and  the  time  will  come 
when  none  will  be  excused,"  does  not  advocate 

*  Rev.  Bleue,  Apr.  25,  1908. 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon    311 

the  pardon  of  an  unfaithful  wife,  but  it  distinctly 
denies  her  husband  the  right  to  take  her  Hfe. 
Commenting  on  his  drama  in  the  Mating  the 
author  reasons : 

For  a  husband  to  kill  his  wife  for  caressing  another 
man,  is  a  remnant  of  savagery.  In  by-gone  ages, 
when  the  male  regarded  his  companion  as  his  pro- 
perty, such  an  act  of  violence  ma}^  have  seemed 
justifiable;  but  in  our  enlightened  age,  it  is  only  the 
deed  of  a  madman  wounded  in  his  vanity.  Dimias's 
famous  cry.  Kill  her!  is  out  of  harmony  with  our 
ideals,  for  we  have  made  progress  toward  compassion. 
We  have  more  respect  for  human  life  than  had  the 
generation  which  preceded  us.^ 

In  addition  to  these  general  humanitarian 
reasons  for  respecting  life,  we  have  seen  that 
Brieux  emphasizes  here  again,  as  a  particular 
and  more  weighty  reason,  the  child's  welfare, 
that  one  always  so  near  his  heart.  It  was  while 
reading  the  celebrated  preface  to  La  Femme  de 
Claude,  he  tells  us,  that  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
Simone — the  preface  in  which  Dumas  fils,  address- 
ing an  upright,  faithful  husband  fettered  to  a 
perverse,  adulterous  wife  (the  divorce  law  had  not 
yet  been  passed),  advises  the  drastic  punishment 
already  noted.  In  meditating  over  this  advice, 
Brieux,  as  we  might  expect,  said  to  him.self: 
*' Yes,  but  even  so  ...  if  there  is  a  child,  what  will 
become  of  it?     What  will  be  its  attitude  later?" 

^  G.  Sorbets,  Illustration  Thcdtrale,  May  l6,  1908. 


312       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Just  this  is  the  point;  nothing  else  should  be  of 
such  importance  in  restraining  the  blind  fury  of 
an  enraged  husband  or  wife.  ^  This  is  the  final 
argument;  Brieux  alone  of  French  dramatists 
and  novelists  accords  to  this  essential  feature  of 
the  theme  the  consideration  that  it  deserves. 

Our  summary  of  Simone  shows  its  relation  to  the 
cycle  of  dramas  and  novels  which  establish  the 
"pardon  theory."  Rene  Doumic  considers  this 
theory  a  remnant  of  French  romanticism,  which 
has  returned  to  native  soil  as  one  element  of  the 
Russian  novel.  ^  Brieux  would  add  yet  the  influ- 
ence of  the  War  of  1870  and  socialism.  ^  Alphonse 
Seche  points  out  still  another  influence,  feminism, 
which,  he  thinks,  will  reject  "pardon,"  for  the 
reason  that  it  has  never  conceded  to  the  husband 
the  right  to  judge  his  wife's  conduct.  "*  Then, 
too,  a  tendency  to  depoetize  adultery — perhaps  a 
natural  concomitant  of  the  growing  tolerance  for 
it — has  helped  make  pardon  possible.  This  ten- 
dency,   which   has   been   very   pronounced   with 

^  Cf.  Bourget's  La  Terre  Promise  (1892).  Ohnet,  a  staunch 
advocate  of  the  pistol  {Serge  Panine,  1 882) ,  counsels  restraint  when 
there  is  a  child's  future  at  stake.  His  representative  in  Le  Droit 
de  VEnJant  (1893),  speaking  of  wife-murder,  says:  "In  every 
catastrophe  of  this  kind  there  is  involved  not  only  the  wronged 
husband,  but  a  household,  a  family.  In  reality  it  is  the  innocent 
parties  who  receive  the  blows." 

^  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  15,  1894. 

3  G.  Sorbets,  Illustration  Thcdtrale,  May  16,  1908. 

'^  L  Evolution  du  Theatre  Contemp.,  p.  15.  The  equality  of 
the  sexes  in  adultery  was  formulated  by  Dumas  in  Francillon 
(1887). 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon    313 

certain  authors — especially  dramatists — during  the 
past  thirty  years,  has  stripped  the  amant  of  his 
prestige  and  all  but  effaced  the  ridicule  and  odium 
attaching  to  the  husband.  Before  a  husband  could 
pardon,  his  jealousy  had  to  be  disarmed;  and  this 
was  impossible  as  long  as  the  wife's  lover  retained 
his  romantic  halo  of  glory. 

The  first  literary  work  of  merit  to  repudiate 
Dumas  was  Un  Crime  d' Amour  {A  Love  Tragedy, 
1886),  by  Paul  Bourget.^  The  hero,  Alfred 
Chazel,  a  brilliant  engineer,  is  not  loved  by  his 
wife,  Helene,  for  notwithstanding  his  good  inten- 
tions, he  is  one  of  those  men  who  never  understand 
women.  Helene  takes  as  a  lover  her  husband's 
former  classmate  and  chum,  Armand,  who,  how- 
ever, abandons  her  when  she  urges  him  to  elope. 
Her  disillusion,  followed  by  a  dangerous  illness, 
results  in  her  moral  regeneration  and  a  firm 
resolve  to  devote  herself  henceforth  to  her  child 
and  husband.  The  "crime"  that  the  author  has 
in  mind  is  not  the  wife's  infidelity,  but  "the 
moral  assassination  of  a  woman  who  has  had 
faith  in  her  lover." 

Upon  Alfred's  first  suspicion  of  his  wife's  in 

*  Becque,  it  seems,  foresaw  this  evolution.  For  while  his 
Michel  Pauper  (1871)  is  a  protest  against  unchastity,  in  La 
Parisienne  (1886),  Clotilde,  with  the  tacit  consent  of  her  husband, 
puts  adultery  on  a  semi-commercial  basis  in  keeping  with  her 
egotistic  convenience.  Of  course  Becque 's  satire  often  is  over- 
charged v/ith  pessimism;  but  French  literature  since  his  time 
has  continued  to  develop  the  duality  implied  in  these  two 
dramas. 


314       Brieux  and  French  Society 

fidelity,  he  told  Armand  that  if  such  a  thing  should 
ever  occur,  he  would  take  his  son  and  let  Helene 
begin  life  anew:  "What  contempt  I  have  for 
a  husband  who  seeks  vengeance!  Either  he  does 
not  love  his  wife  (and  what  does  he  avenge?) 
or  else  he  loves,  and  ought  to  make  the  woman 
whom  he  loves  happy,  at  the  expense  of  his  own 
happiness."^  Alfred  impresses  us  as  too  unsus- 
pecting and  generous.  Besides,  the  author  keeps 
him  so  much  in  obscurity  at  the  psychological 
moment  that  it  is  thanks  to  Helene' s  repentance 
that  all  ends  well.  Even  so,  if  Armand  had 
loved  Helene  more,  everything  might  have  been 
different.  ^ 

The  new  Evangelism  found  another  apostle  in 
Jules  Lemaitre,  whose  drama,  Le  Pardon  (1895), 
furnished  at  the  same  time  a  name  for  the  move- 
ment. ^  According  to  the  simple  plot  of  the  play, 
when  Georges  learns  that  Suzanne  has  a  lover, 
they  separate  and  the  guilty  wife  goes  to  the  home 

^  Un  Crime  d' Amour,  ch.  vi. 

^  The  pardon  of  adultery  is  sanctioned,  if  not  emphatically 
advocated,  by  Maupassant,  in  his  short  story  Allouma  (1889). 
Auballe,  after  sowing  his  wild  oats,  settles  in  Algeria,  where 
Allouma,  a  beautiful  Arab  woman,  becomes  his  companion. 
Impelled  by  her  nomad  instinct,  Allouma  occasionally  returns 
to  her  tribe  for  a  few  weeks.  Auballe  grants  her  this  permission, 
after  her  first  escapade,  and  pardons  her  each  time  upon  her 
return.  Even  after  she  has  run  away  with  his  shepherd,  he  inti- 
mates that  he  would  still  take  her  back;  for,  "avec  les  femmes,'' 
he  says,  "il  faut  tou jours  pardonner  .  .  .  ou  ignorer." 

3  It  is  possible,  as  certain  critics  have  pointed  out,  that  this 
piece  should  be  taken  ironically. 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon  315 

of  her  friend,  Therese,  to  whom  Georges  has 
formerl}^  paid  court.  Therese  soon  persuades 
Georges  to  let  Suzanne  come  back,  inasmuch  as 
her  "fault"  is  mild.  But  the  offended  husband 
finds  it  easier  to  promise  forgiveness  than  to  for- 
get, so  he  forms  a  liaison  with  Therese.  Now  the 
offended  wife  prepares  to  leave  her  husband. 
But  Therese,  who  sincerely  regrets  the  wrong 
she  has  done  Suzanne,  apologizes,  and  Suzanne 
forgives  her.  Husband  and  wife  can  now  grant 
each  other  a  lasting  pardon. 

It  might  be  objected  that  a  "pardon"  thus  based 
on  extenuating  circumstances  and  special  condi- 
tions loses  its  force.  This  is  true  of  Daudet's 
La  Petite  Paroisse  {The  Little  Parish  Chapel, 
1895),  whose  mystic  and  romantic  elements  re- 
lieve the  author  of  personal  responsibility.  ^  After 
eight  years  of  marriage,  Lydie  Fenigan  elopes 
with  a  young  nobleman,  twenty  years  her  junior. 
They  contemplate  a  cruise  on  his  yacht,  but  the 
elopement  soon  loses  its  fascination  for  the  young 
lover,  who  returns  alone.  His  abandoned  com- 
panion lands  on  the  west  coast  of  France,  where 
she  attempts  suicide.  Her  mother-in-law,  who 
despised  her  at  the  time  of  her  elopement  and 
whose  tyranny  had  been  Lydie' s  chief  grievance, 
now  flies  to  her  rescue,  saves  her  life,  and  urges 
her  son,  Richard,  to  pardon  her.^ 

^  The  dramatized  version  of  this  work  was  produced  in  1901. 

^  Similar  in  general  plot  is  La  Brehis  Egaree  (19 13),  a  play 

by  Francis  Jammes.      A  poet  of  the  Basque  country  elopes  with 


31 6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Richard  had  felt  the  blow  keenly,  for  he  had 
recently  grown  fond  of  his  wife.  But  could  he 
ever  think  of  pardoning  her?  The  same  influence 
that  had  turned  his  mother  to  forgiveness  now 
turned  him.  This  was  Napoleon  IMerivet  and 
his  church,  the  Petite  Paroisse,  which  he  had 
erected  in  memory  of  his  wife,  whom  he  pardoned 
after  she  had  run  away  with  an  artist.  Merivet 
reasons  and  pleads  with  Richard,  explaining  his 
own  case.  "It  was  the  merest  chance,"  he  says, 
"that  a  mad  fit  of  pride  did  not  make  me  the 
basest  of  assassins;  for  is  there  anything  so  base 
as  a  husband  who  kills  his  wife  with  the  authoriza- 
tion of  the  law?  "  Fortunately  Merivet 's  good 
cure  counselled  moderation;  and  now  that  he 
understands  the  gospel  of  forgiveness,  he  rejects 
Dumas's  advice  with  horror:  "Oh,  it's  easy 
enough  for  that  dramatist  to  formulate  his  high- 
sounding  theatrical  advice,  'Kill  the  faithless 
woman!'"  This  argument  all  but  convinces 
Richard.  But  when  it  comes  to  the  test,  he  does 
not  find  pardon  so  easy  as  he  has  anticipated. 
Not  until  his  young  rival  has  met  death  and  the 
offended  husband  has  become  convinced  that 
Lydie  sincerely  detests  her  lover's  memory,  does 
the  last  obstacle  disappear.  ^ 

his  friend's  wife.  They  go  into  Spain,  where  Pierre  unchival- 
rously  abandons  his  lady  when  her  money  has  run  out.  After  a 
dangerous  illness,  the  "strayed  sheep"  is  glad  to  return  to  the 
fold. 

^  Daudet  weaves  in  the  story  of  a  man  sentenced  to  death  for 
killing   his   mistress   for  infidelity.     Merivet  remarks   that  he 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon  317 

The  pardon  in  Daudet's  novel  depends  largely 
on  mysticism,  as  in  Jules  Lemaitre's  drama  it  de- 
pends on  exceptional  circumstances.  But  in  La 
Toiirmente  {The  Tempest,  1893),  Paul  Margueritte 
did  not  see  fit  to  avail  himself  of  such  conces- 
sions. '  Perhaps  for  that  reason  he  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  so-called  pardon,  if  not  impossible, 
may  be  of  little  or  no  value.  Jacques  Halluys, 
in  considering  whether  his  wife,  Therese,  could 
be  in  love  with  his  old  student  friend,  Phihppe,  is 
incKned  to  think  that,  even  if  such  is  the  case, 
he  will  not  kill  her.  ''Only  certain  mad  brutes 
would  kill  an  unfaithful  wife,  certain  blood- 
thirsty -^Tetches,  perhaps,  who  think  they  can 
wash  their  disgrace  away  in  blood."  ^  But  when 
Therese  confesses  illicit  relations  with  Philippe, 
Jacques  would  kill  her  if  only  he  had  a  knife. 
Though  he  is  persuaded  by  the  advice  of  one  or 
two  friends  to  pardon  Therese  and  resume  his 
former  affectionate  life  with  her,  he  keeps  thinking 
of  Philippe  in  spite  of  himself.  A  resolute  stand 
at  the  beginning  and  a  definite  break  would  have 
been  better  than  the  constant  little  pricking  of  his 
wounds  from  day  to  day.  So  Jacques's  pardon 
results  in  his  torture — a  state  of  mind  which  the 
author   portrays   admirably,    though   by   making 

would  have  been  acquitted  if  it  had  been  his  lawful  wife,  though 
the  crime  would  have  been  the  more  base  because  committed 
with  legal  impunity. 

'  The  stage  version  of  this  novel  bears  the  title  U Autre. 

*  La  Tourmenie,  ch.  \'i. 


3i8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Jacques  reason  too  mucli  with  himself,  he  pro- 
duces at  times  the  impression  of  a  comedie  larmoy- 
ante.  But  Paul  Margueritte  here,  as  everywhere 
else,  presents  his  subject  with  fairness.  If  Jacques's 
efforts  to  pardon  and  forget  fail,  the  novel  tells  of 
other  cases  of  pardon  which  succeeded  completely. 

Paul  Hervieu,  the  staunch  champion  of  woman's 
rights  (in  the  broad  sense  of  the  term),  treats  our 
theme  in  VEnigme  {The  Enigma^  1901).  When 
Leonore's  lover  commits  suicide  in  the  hope 
of  shielding  her,  she  screams  to  her  husband: 
"It  is  all  up,  Gerard;  strangle  me!"  But  in  per- 
fect composure  Gerard  replies:  "No,  I  will  not 
kill  you.  Nor  will  I  drive  you  from  home.  You 
shall  live  as  a  punishment."  So  this  "cruel"  hus- 
band considers  death  too  merciful  for  an  un- 
faithful wife.  The  "reasoner"  condemns  conjugal 
homicide  unreservedly.  In  his  opinion,  punish- 
ment should  be  inflicted  according  to  the  gravity 
of  the  offence:  "Smiles,  embraces,  and  caresses 
cannot,  like  poisoning  or  parricide,  be  expiated  in 
the  blood  of  those  who  have  yielded  only  to  volup- 
tuousness." 

Similarly  the  "reasoner"  in  ParaUre  (1906), 
one  of  Maurice  Donna^^'s  dramas,  hopes  that 
"before  nineteen  hundred  more  years  love  will 
have  been  reduced  to  its  just  proportions."  He 
asserts  that  the  man  who  has  just  killed  his  wife's 
lover  was  prompted  by  the  fear  of  appearing  to 
be  a  complacent  husband.  And  like  Brieux  in 
discussing  Simone,  he  points  out  the  consequences 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon  319 

of  such  a  murder  to  the  other  parties  concerned. 
But  here  no  child's  future  is  involved.  In  Le 
Torrent  (1899),  an  earlier  play  intended  to 
establish  the  sovereign  rights  of  Love,  Donnay 
represents  an  "odious"  husband  who  drives  his 
wife  from  home  for  adultery.  The  "innocent 
victim"  throws  herself  into  a  mill-race,  leaving 
two  young  children. 

Still  another  husband  deserves  censure  who 
refuses  to  pardon  through  his  inability  to  forget — 
Maurice  Darlay,  the  young  barrister  in  VAdver- 
saire  {The  Adversary,  1903),  a  drama  by  Alfred 
Capus.  Marianne,  formerly  a  model  of  virtue, 
though  impatient  for  her  husband  to  rise  into  promi- 
nence at  all  costs,  owes  her  corruption  to  the  baneful 
influence  of  Mme.  Beautin's  salon,  where  she  has 
formed  a  liaison  with  another  lawyer.  Maurice, 
who  pleads  only  cases  which  he  approves  of  morally, 
is  naturally  firm  towards  Marianne;  for  he  has  won 
fame  by  obtaining  the  acquittal  of  a  man  charged 
with  wounding  his  wife  and  her  lover.  So,  in 
rejecting  her  plea  for  indulgence,  he  says:  "I 
am  not  one  of  those  complacent  husbands  of 
the  present  time  who,  with  smiles  on  their  lips, 
pardon  every  day!  It  would  be  useless  for  me 
to  try." 

Capus  would  have  us  understand  that  this 
unhappy  ending,  which  stands  almost  alone  in 
his  dramas,  is  exceptional;  that  pardon  is  coming 
to  be  more  and  more  the  rule.  For  when  Maurice 
asks  his  spokesman,  Chantraine,  whether  there  will 


320       Brieux  and  French  Society 

not  develop  a  race  of  exceedingly  civilized  people 
indifferent  to  conjugal  infidelity,  Chantraine 
says:  *'I  am  firmly  convinced  that  people  will 
attach  to  it  less  and  less  importance." 

The  drama  par  excellence  advocating  woman's 
"right  to  happiness"  is  Romain  Coolus's  V Enfant 
Malade  {The  Sick  Child ^  1897),  of  which  we  have  al- 
ready heard  Jacques  du  Tillet  express  his  opinion. 
Jean  lets  a  woman  persuade  him  to  marry  her  be- 
cause, she  declares,  she  would  be  unhappy  with  any 
one  else.  The  obliging  husband  not  only  respects 
his  wife's  every  whim,  but  anticipates  her  desires 
and  assists  in  arranging  her  next  choice.  And  as 
soon  as  the  dear  creature  has  again  become  un- 
happy, Jean  takes  her  back;  for  to  him  she  is  ^^une 
petite  enfant  malade  qiii  a  hesoin  d'etre  gdtee,  aimee 
avec  des  gestes  de  douceur  et  des  regards  de  honte^  ^ 
The  play  has  every  appearance  of  a  satire,  but 
Romain  Coolus's  general  tendency  seems  to  refute 
such  a  vSupposition.  Nothing  could  be  more 
serious  than  one  of  his  more  recent  dramas, 
Ccenr  d  Coeur  (1907),  in  which  he  takes  essentially 
the  same  view. 

These  summaries,  while  showing  a  certain 
diversity  of  sentiment  relative  to  conjugal  infidel- 
ity, justify  the  conclusion  that  the  general  ten- 
dency in  recent  French  literature  has  been  towards 
leniency.  Since  liaisons  have  become  so  con- 
fusedly similar  to  the  legal  union,  the  same  may 
be  inferred  from  them,  except  that  the  penalty 

"^  U Enfant  Malade ,  ii,  4. 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon   321 

for  taking  the  life  of  one's  mistress  is  greater  than 
the  penalty  for  wife-murder.  The  revolver  re- 
action against  romanticism  begun  by  Dumas  fils 
and  Emile  Augier,  who  were  themselves  far  from 
consistent,  has  lost  much  of  its  initial  severity, 
thanks  to  the  Russian  novel  and  to  such  isms 
as  pessimism,  individualism,  feminism,  cosmo- 
politanism, and  humanitarianism.  ^  Though  some 
"deceived"  husbands  and  lovers  still  exact  the 
offender's  life  as  a  penalty,  far  more  pardon,  or  at 
least  spare  life.  ^  Indeed  it  is  doubtful  whether 
a  single  case  of  wife-murder  has  been  recorded 
since  Simone  (1908),  either  in  the  drama  or  in  the 
novel.  As  early  as  1898  Georges  PelHssier  wrote: 
"Our  novelists  no  longer  dare  to  represent  a 
husband  who  kills  his  wife."^  And  according  to 
Maitre  Aga,  "*  it  is  now  customary  to  spare  the 
lover's  life  also. 

^  H.  Bidou  observes:  "II  ne  semble  pas  douteux  que,  depuis 
dix  ans,  notre  theatre  ne  se  soit  extremement  adouci.  On  y  a 
tres  peu  tue  cette  annee."     UAnnee  Dram.  igii-igi2,  p.  5. 

^  M.  de  Rysbergue  says :  "I  am  not  a  man  who  kills  his  wife," 
though  he  refuses  to  see  Irene  when  she  returns  to  the  fold. 
Maman  Colihri. 

^Etudes  de  Lilt.  Contemp.,  ii,  p.  104.  The  reason  for  "par- 
don" is  sometimes  selfishness  {La  Parisienne,  Le  Foyer,  L' Homme 
de  Proie).  But  oftener  the  husband  admits  his  share  of  fault 
{Le  Pardon,  Le  Bercail,  La  Griffe,  Cher  Maitre,  Le  Gout  du  Vice^ 
Un  Soir).  Frangois  de  Curel's  savant  {La  Figurante)  endures 
his  dishonour  stoically  because  he  realizes  that  at  his  age  he  should 
not  have  taken  a  young  wife:  "That  woman  is  nothing  to  me. 
In  marrying  her  I  made  a  mistake.  To  take  her  life  because 
I  have  made  a  mess  of  mine,  would  be  an  abuse  of  power  which  is 
not  in  keeping  with  my  ideas." 

4  La  Maison  des  Juges  (1907),  by  G.  Leroux. 
21 


2i22       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Such  are  the  facts  of  French  society,  according 
to  literary  theory.  But  does  literary  theory 
represent  the  facts  of  life?  In  the  novel  evidently 
it  does  not ;  nor  is  the  drama  a  trustworthy  guide, 
owing  to  its  gross  exaggeration  of  the  frequency  of 
adultery. 

Simone  represents  the  fundamental  difference 
between  literary  opinion  and  fact.  Sergeac  kills 
his  unfaithful  wife,  to  the  profound  regret  of  the 
dramatist,  who  pleads  for  clemency  in  the  name 
of  reason  and  civilized  humanity.  Here  we  have 
an  actual  deed,  so  to  speak,  and  an  expression  of 
literary  theory.  The  dramatist  registers  the  deed 
with  a  protest  and  urges  reform.  But  literary 
theories  and  protests  change  manners  only  gradu- 
ally. And  so,  while  Brieux's  attitude  is  in  direct 
contrast  to  Dumas' s,  the  offended  husband  has 
not  changed  his  course  of  action,  though  a  marked 
difference  is  noticeable  in  his  subsequent  attitude. 
For  in  Simone,  the  husband  feels  that  his  tragedy 
is  horrible  and  sincerely  regrets  that  it  was  neces- 
sary, whereas  in  La  Femme  de  Claude,  the  hus- 
band's wrath  remained  implacable.  So  far,  fact 
and  fiction  agree;  but  this  partial  success  of 
literary  theory  does  not  justify  the  reign  of  "par- 
don" in  recent  French  fiction,  for,  according  to 
statistics,  enraged  husbands,  lovers,  and  mistresses 
still  have  recourse  to  the  revolver. 

Rather  has  literary  influence,  in  a  certain  sense, 
defeated  its  purpose  and  led  to  violence,  since, 
by  creating  a  sentiment  opposed  to  legal  action  in 


Adultery  and  the  Theory  of  Pardon   Z'^Z 

adultery,  it  has  forced  the  offended  husband  to 
avenge  his  honour  by  violence.  At  the  present 
time  it  is  impossible  for  a  husband,  not  only  of  the 
higher  classes,  but  even  of  the  middle  class,  to 
bring  his  wife  before  a  tribunal  on  the  charge  of 
adultery,  in  accordance  with  Articles  336  and  337 
of  the  Code.  There  is  a  feeling  that  a  wife  should 
not  sit  in  the  dock  with  her  lover,  no  matter  how 
gravely  she  may  have  offended  her  husband.^ 
The  natural  consequence  is  such  an  increase  in  the 
large  number  of  "unselfish"  homicides,  as  murders 
for  other  motives  than  money  are  called,  that  they 
are  %nq^  times  as  numerous  as  the  selfish  ones.  ^ 
For  here  public  opinion  and  the  jury  both  favour 
the  husband  who  has  taken  justice  into  his  own 
hands.  The  Code,  too,  is  emphatically  on  the 
husband's  side,  since  Article  324  gives  him  the 
right  to  kill  his  wife  and  her  ''accomplice"  if  he 
surprises  them  in  his  own  house.  ^  Jacques  Lux 
says  that,  owing  to  moral  skepticism  tempered 
by  outbursts  of  indignation,  public  opinion  and 
justice,  despite  the  clement  tone  of  French  man- 
ners,   consider    two    things    equally    permissible: 

^  L.  Delzons,  "La  Legislation  Penale  deTAdultere,"  Rei).  Bleue^ 
Mar.  12,  1904. 

^  Dr.  Toulouse,  "L'Homicide  Desinteresse," -Key.  Bleue,  Mar. 

I,  1903. 

3  It  is  perhaps  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  Code  legalizes 
wife-murder.  According  to  A.  Seche's  interpretation  of  this 
Article  (U Evolution  du  Thedire  Contemp,,  p.  12),  it  merely  means 
that  murder,  committed  by  the  husband  under  these  circumstan- 
ces, is  excusable. 


324       Brieux  and  French  Society 

The  wife  is  free  to  violate  the  conjugal  oath,  and 
her  accomplice  is  in  nowise  reprehensible;  but  the 
murder  of  these  two  persons,  committed  by  the 
dishonoured  husband,  is,  if  not  legitimate,  at  least 
excusable.^  The  same  critic  concludes  that, 
while  adulterers  should  be  severely  punished,  on 
the  other  hand,  their  lives  ought  to  be  protected 
by  the  prospect  of  due  punishment  for  the  assassin 
husband.  The  difficulty  is  to  decide  what  con- 
stitutes due  punishment.  Lux's  own  suggestion 
of  a  heavy  fine  rather  than  imprisonment  is  far 
from  satisfactory.  It  means  virtually  putting  a 
price  on  human  life. 

^"La  Libert^  de  I'Adultere  et  du  Meurtre,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Apr. 
25, 1908. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  FRENCH  MAGISTRACY 

La  Robe  Rouge  (Brieux) — UEnqiiete  (Henriot) 
— La  Loi  de  Pardon  (Landay) — La  Maison  des 
Juges  (Leroux) — Angoisses  de  Juge  (Masson- 
Forestier) — Robes  Rouges  (Adam) — Le  Lac  Noir 
(Bordeaux). 

THE  four  dramas  dealing  with  matrimonial 
troubles,  we  know,  did  not  come  in  unbroken 
sequence.  Suzette,  the  last  of  the  series,  followed 
immediately  after  Simone,  the  third.  But  be- 
tween the  second  and  the  third,  Brieux  wrote 
three  others;  and  between  Le  Berceau  and  La 
Deserteuse  came  the  majority  of  the  ''Storm  and 
Stress"  plays — no  less  than  five  of  the  eight,  in 
which  Brieux  seems  to  believe  that  the  best  way 
to  bring  about  reform  is  not  to  cheer  by  holding 
out  hope,  but  to  terrify  by  depicting  awfulness. 
Only  two  of  these — Les  Remplagantes  and  Les 
AvarieSj  both  completed  in  the  same  year — are 
at  all  related  in  subject.  Following  the  cynicism 
of  Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Dupont,  the  bestial  misery 
of  ResuUat  des  Courses,  the  hopeless  impasse  of 

325 


326       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Le  BerceaUf  these  plays  form  a  grim  series  of 
gloomy  and  angry  denunciation.  The  last  two — 
La  Petite  Amie  and  Mater nite — however  interesting 
in  themselves,  are  not  so  distinctive  in  theme  as 
to  warrant  our  considering  them  at  length.  In 
plays  already  or  to  be  considered,  Brieux  discusses 
more  or  less  the  problems  he  treats  in  these  two. 
The  other  three — La  Robe  Rouge ^  Les  Remplagantes, 
Les  Avaries — which  we  shall  now  take  up  in  order, 
deserve  rather  detailed  attention,  because  the 
problems  in  them  are  for  the  most  part  peculiarly 
their  own. 

La  Robe  Rouge  (1900)  takes  its  name  from  the 
fact  that  the  official  robe  of  a  French  presiding 
judge,  or  conseiller,  is  a  red  gown.  The  story  is  of 
a  struggle  between  an  alleged  assassin  and  the 
local  magistracy,  in  which  the  prisoner's  life  is  in 
the  greater  peril  because  the  prosecuting  attorney 
desires  his  conviction,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
coveted  rank  of  judge.  The  grave  charges  im- 
plied in  this  summary  may  at  first  seem  absurdly 
exaggerated.  But  in  these  times  when  all  things 
are  attacked  indiscriminately,  some  exaggeration 
is  to  be  expected.  Perhaps  we  shall  discover 
that  it  is  not  so  very  great  after  all  in  La  Robe 
Rouge,  if  we  take  a  rapid  survey  of  the  attitude  of 
French  literature  towards  the  magistracy  in  the 
past. 

A  century  before  Saint  Louis  decided  disputes 
in  his  open-air  court,  Chretien  de  Troyes  depicted 
the  woes  of  a  girl  unable  to  get  justice  e^en  in  the 


The  French  Magistracy  327 

realm  of  good  King  Arthur.^  Jean  de  Meung, 
a  contemporary  of  Saint  Louis,  says  in  Le  Roman 
de  la  Rose: 

"  Judges,  in  short,  are  scoundrels  vile. 

'Tis  not  for  us  these  men  to  crown 

With  state,  that  they  may  trample  down 

Suitors,  and  every  cause  exploit 

To  fill  their  purses  by  adroit 

Chicanery,  and  shut  their  door 

To  claimants  cursed  in  being  poor." 

In  the  fifteenth  century,  the  Pathelin  farce 
satirizes  a  brainless  judge  who,  after  repeatedly 
rejecting  the  plaintiff's  just  claims,  stops  the 
proceedings  abruptly,  in  order  to  go  to  dinner. 
Guillaume  Coquillart's  judge  is  too  stupid  to  have 
an  opinion.  Vacillating,  hon  enfant,  he  knows 
just  enough  to  charge  fees.  ^  In  the  sixteenth 
century,  Rabelais  naturally  does  not  mince  mat- 
ters. His  "furred  cats"  devour  little  children  and 
feed  from  marble  stones.  Their  long,  steel- 
pointed  claws  are  so  strong  that  nothing  escapes 
them.  They  burn,  quarter,  murder,  imprison, 
spoil,  and  waste  everything.  Our  good  curate  of 
Meudon  would  like  to  have  them  all  burnt  alive 
in  their  "  burrows."  ^  Remy  Belleau's  ire  gradu- 
ally spends  itself  good-naturedly: 

*  Yvain. 

^  Le  Playdoye  d'entre  la  Simple  et  la  i^wjee, (fifteenth  century). 

3  Pantagruel,  Bk.  v,  ch.  xi. 


328        Brieux  and  French  Society 

^'  Tai  bien  connu  que  la  Faveur 
Est  le  rempart  (Tun  bon  plaideur.*'^ 

But  Agrippa  d'Aubigne's  wrath  knows  no  bounds. 
His  "Golden  Chamber"  (1616),  in  which  Injustice 
has  its  throne,  is  a  structure  built  with  bones  and 
skulls  of  the  victims  of  iniquitous  judgments. 
The  sepulchral  walls  are  whitewashed  with  the 
victims'  marrow.^ 

In  view  of  the  tight  rein  kept  by  the  Grand 
Monarque  in  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  his  men  of  letters  ventured  only  a  feeble 
echo  of  their  convictions.  Indeed  how  could  the 
magistracy  be  held  to  account  in  literature  after 
the  high-handed  examples  of  Richelieu^  and  of 
Louis  XIV  himself?^  Scapin,  after  hinting  at 
the  influence  of  money  and  protection,  says: 
"Give  everything  you  have  rather  than  try  to 
obtain  justice.  Consider  through  how  many 
beasts'  talons  you  must  pass!"^     La  Fontaine's 

^  La  Reconnue,  v,  3. 

^  The  Huguenot  standard-bearer,  whose  father  was  a  judge, 
lays  the  blame  for  these  iniquities  upon  the  Catholic  royalty 
and  clergy. 

3  Cf.  Alfred  de  Vigny,  Cinq-Mars.  Before  the  Revolution 
French  criminal  law  was  based  on  the  Ordinance  of  1670,  which 
authorized  torture,  and  was  in  general  unfavourable  to  the 
accused.  The  diversity  of  judicial  standards  may  be  seen 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  former  provinces  of  langue  d'oil  alone, 
where  the  droit  coutumier  prevailed,  there  were  over  three  hundred 
different  coutumes.  Jalliffier  and  Vast,  Hist,  de  V Europe  de  1610 
cL  lySg^  p.  721. 

4  The  case  of  Fouquet.     The  Man  in  the  Iron  Mask. 

5  Les  Fourberies  de  Scapin,  ii,  8.     In  Le  Misanthrope^VhilintQ 


The  French  Magistracy  329 

representative  of  the  law  thinks  that  one  could 
not  make  a  mistake  b}^  condemning  a  '^pervers" 
hit  or  miss.  ^  Racine's  judge,  in  his  mania  for 
routine,  would  regulate  even  the  conditions  of 
sleep  by  legal  decree.^  In  another  instance 
Racine  represents  a  ''pleader"  as  reminding  a 
judge  that  he  is  a  distant  relative  of  one  of  the 
judge's  nephews.^  La  Bru3^ere  both  hints  at  the 
corrupt  influence  of  women  in  judicial  matters 
and  plays  on  the  difference  between  a  judge's 
"duty"  and  his  "trade."  After  satirizing  the 
interminable  delays  of  justice  and  censuring  the 
flagrant  incompetency  of  young  magistrates,  he 
exclaims:  "There  is  a  school  to  train  people 
for  war:  where  is  the  school  for  magistrates  ?"  ^ 

The  noisy  champions  of  enlightenment  and 
reason  in  the  eighteenth  century  did  not  directly 
concern  themselves  much  with  the  magistracy. 
Moreover,  in  spite  of  the  unbridled  reign  of  de- 
bauchery during  the  Regency,  the  literary  censor- 
says  to  Alceste:  "Aucun  juge  par  vous,  ne  sera  visite  ?  "  thus 
alluding  to  the  custom  of  trying  personal  influence  with  the 
judiciary.  Charles  Sorel,  after  speaking  of  "the  greedy  hands  of 
Justice,"  describes  a  judge  whose  wife  obtains  a  decision  in  favour 
of  the  litigator  offering  the  last  and  biggest  bribe.  {Francion^ 
Bks.  I,  III.)  Cf.  Beaumarchais's  experience  a  century  later. 
Pigault-Lebrun's  magistrates  are  willing  to  invent  legal  facts. 
Charles  et  Caroline^  iii,  9. 

'^  Fables,  Bk.  11,  no.  iii.     Cf.  his  fable  UHuttre  et  les  Plaideurs. 

^  Les  Plaideurs,  i,  4. 

^  Ibid.,  V,  9.  Compare  the  sentiments  expressed  by  Racine 
in  his  preface. 

4  Caracteres,  chs.  vii,  xiv. 


330       Brieux  and  French  Society 

ship,  which  prevented  free  discussion,  held  un- 
disputed sway  until  1750.  Voltaire's  scathing 
attacks,  after  all,  were  directed  against  the  penal 
system  and  the  general  spirit  of  fanaticism  that 
caused  magistrates  to  commit  deeds  of  cruelty 
rather  than  against  the  magistrates  themselves.' 
Beaumarchais's  mordant  satire,  on  the  other  hand 
was  personal,  being  based  on  his  own  experience 
and  his  blows  produced  a  much  deadlier  effect 
relatively — that  is,  considering  his  limited  pres- 
tige— than  did  Voltaire's.  That  the  judiciary 
was  still  held  in  esteem,  is  evident  from  Sebastien 
Mercier's  humanitarian  judge,  who  possesses  all 
of  the  known  virtues — probity,  integrity,  honour, 
conscientiousness,  and  justice.  He  thought  him- 
self obliged  to  seek  his  office  for  fear  of  losing  the 
opportunity  of  doing  as  much  good  as  possible 
for  his  fellow-creatures.  ^  We  should  suspect  that 
Mercier's  model  judge  was  intended  only  as  a 
contrast,  if  he  were  accompanied  by  an  unworthy 
colleague,  which  is  the  situation  in  Marie-Joseph 
Chenier's  drama,  Jean  CalasJ    Here  the  upright 

'  Vauvenargues  declared  that  the  sole  business  of  justice  was 
to  maintain  the  laws  of  violence. 

^  Le  Juge,  i,  2.  Nivelle  de  La  Chaussee's  judge  almost  de- 
spoils himself  in  the  interest  of  integrity  and  honour.  His  son, 
even  more  rigid  still  in  matters  of  justice,  would  hold  magistrates 
responsible  for  any  loss  that  might  result  to  a  litigant  from  an 
error  on  their  part.  But  he  admits  that  his  views  are  exceptional: 
"Ma  fagon  de  penser,  contraire  aux  mceurs  du  tems, 
N'attirera  sur  moi  que  des  ris  insultans." 

La  Gouvernante,  iii,  5. 
3  Mercier  presents  such  a  case  in  L' Indigent. 


The  French  Magistracy  331 

La  Salle's  motto  is:  "Everything  for  conscience 
and  truth."'  He  condemns  his  harsh,  cruel  col- 
league, Clerac,  and  the  latter' s  kind  in  these 
Y/ords:  ''Thus  the  magistrate,  who  has  bought 
his  office,  thinking  that  he  would  humiliate  himself 
by  being  conscientious,  buys  and  sells  the  right  to 
appear  infallible."-  In  the  second  half  of  the 
eighteenth  centur}'',  the  tendency  among  the 
"philosophers"  was  more  and  more  to  attribute 
all  faults  to  society,  all  virtues  to  the  individual. 
Naturally,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  society 
— that  is,  the  magistracy — ^were  assumed  to  be  in 
the  wrong.  Even  La  Harpe  made  his  strictures.  ^ 
In  spite  of  the  reforms  of  1789,  respect  for 
judges  was  not  increased.  The  magistracy  created 
by  the  Revolution  was  reorganized  under  the  Con- 
sulate, and  again  under  the  Empire. "»  In  their 
attitude  towards  the  judiciary,  the  Restoration, 
the  July  Monarchy,  the  Second  Republic,  and  the 
Second  Empire  all  imposed  an  oath  of  allegiance, 
which  in  many  cases  was  equivalent  to  dismissal.  ^ 
Thus  the  course  of  events,  by  frequently  compelling 
magistrates  either  to  disavow  a  previous  regime 
or  to  resign,  placed  them  in  an  unfavourable  posi- 
tion and  did  much  to  undermine  their  prestige. 

^  Jean  Calas,  i,  4. 

~  Ibid.,  iii,  4.     The  origin  of   judicial  bribes,  or  "spices,"  is 
discussed   by   Raymond   Poincare.     How    France   Is   Governed, 

p.  233. 

3  Cours  de  Litt.,  Didier  ed.,  1834,  ii,  637. 

4  M.  Glasson,  Rev.  Bleue,  Nov.  4,  1882. 

5  A.  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Civ.  contemp.  en  France,  p.  344. 


332       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Balzac,  the  Saint-Simon  of  the  July  Monarchy, 
represents  the  gens  de  robe  as  ''prevaricators,  who 
.  .  .  seek  only  to  please  the  mighty."  In  his 
Cabinet  des  Antiques,  the  honourable  gentlemen 
intrigue,  accept  bribes,  and  render  quid  pro  quo 
to  the  government.  ^  The  magistrates  in  Ursule 
Mirouet,  except  Bongrand,  are  skinflints  willing 
to  sell  out  to  the  highest  bidder.  If  we  except 
Popinot,  those  in  Visiter  diction  and  Le  Colonel 
Chabert  are  not  much  better.'' 

The  gens  de  robe  of  the  Second  Empire  enjoyed 
a  certain  esteem,  except  of  course  with  the  avowed 
enemies  of  the  government.  But  under  the  Third 
Republic  their  lot  has  not  been  enviable.  Jour- 
nalists, critics,  novelists,  moralists,  and  dramatists 
— all  have  vied  with  one  another  in  their  efforts  to 
discredit  them.  Each  one  wants  to  deliver  a  blow, 
add  to  the  satire,  enrich  the  common  stock  of 
invectives.  Some  years  ago,  Maitre  Payssonie,  an 
advocate-general  of  the  appellate  court  of  Orleans, 
said  in  an  address  to  his  colleagues:  " It  is  raining 
excrement,  and  we  are  under  the  eaves."  Then 
he  enumerated  some  of  the  titles  of  articles  against 

^  Camusot,  a  provincial  examining  magistrate,  who  is  promised 
the  favour  of  the  King  and  of  the  Minister  if  he  will  clear  a 
certain  man,  accepts  the  proposition  and  receives  for  his  services 
an  appointment  in  Paris  (p.  i68).  In  this  traffic  he  is  ably- 
seconded  by  his  wife  (p.  153).  Another  magistrate  owes  his 
promotion  to  his  servility  (p.  138).  Again,  the  procureur  du 
roi  takes  his  cue  from  the  Minister  (p.  146).  Sometimes  a  magis- 
trate accepts  a  bribe  in  the  street  (p.  140), 

^  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  Balzac's  characterizations 
are  overdrawn.     Cf.  Jules  Simon,  Victor  Cousin,  4th  ed.,  p.  87. 


The  French  Magistracy  333 

them:  "The  Great  Prostitute/'  "The  Magis- 
tracy Capitulated  in  Servile  Submission,"  "The 
Magistracy  Rotten  to  the  Core,"  "The  Crimes 
of  the  Magistracy,"  etc'  Among  the  epithets 
quoted  by  him  are :  ' '  salaries, "  "  brutes  immondes,** 
^' scelerats,""  ^^association  de  maljaiteursy^  Such 
excesses  constitute  one  of  the  joys  of  a  free  press. 
But  we  must  confess  our  surprise  upon  reading 
the  following  estimate  in  a  serious  work  by  a 
reputable  author. 

Is  this  contemptible,  prevaricating  magistracy 
qualified  [Georges  Deherme  asks]  to  pass  sentence, 
to  inflict  capital  punishment?  Have  these  disreput- 
able judges,  who  intrigued  in  the  Humbert  case  and 
cooed  in  the  corrupt  Steinheil  salon,  the  necessary 
dignity  for  arbiters  of  justice?  What  are  their 
decisions  worth,  if  we  suspect  that  they  are  rendered 
to  order  or  for  bribes?^ 

Criticisms  like  these,  being  directed  squarely 
against  the  magistracy,  are  a  far  graver  charge 
than  the  tirades  of  a  Francois  Coppee  or  a  Paul 
Margueritte,  which  are  directed  chiefly  against 
society  and  the  Code.  Flaubert,  Anatole  France, 
Pierre  Loti  may,  like  Tolstoy,  scoff  at  all  human 

^  Rev.  de  Paris,  Oct.  15,  1896. 

^  Ibid.  The  same  year  in  which  La  Robe  Rouge  was  brought 
out  upon  the  boards,  Augustin  Filon  called  attention  to  the 
exceedingly  bad  reputation  of  the  French  magistracy  in  fiction. 
Indeed  the  epithets  he  enumerates  belong  in  the  same  class  as 
those  just  quoted.     Rev.  Blsue,  May  19,  1890. 

i  La  Crise  Sociale  (1910),  p.  224, 


334       Brieux  and  French  Society 

justice^;  Edouard  Rod  and  Gaston  Leroux  may 
emphasize  the  uncertainty,  the  fallibility  of  jus- 
tice; or  a  Labiche,  a  Courteline,  a  Bisson  may 
amuse  us  with  their  light  caricatures  of  the  magis- 
tracy. Such  arguments  and  criticisms,  while 
they  have  weight,  are  not  necessarily  convincing.  ^ 
With  the  serious  drama,  it  is  different,  if  we  may 
believe  Tocqueville.  "When  the  revolution,"  he 
says,  "which  has  changed  the  social  and  political 
status  of  a  people,  begins  to  make  itself  felt  in 
literature,  it  is  generally  through  the  drama  that 
this  revolution  manifests  itself  first,  and  that  is 
the  genre  in  which  it  always  remains  perceptible."  ^ 
If,  then,  the  chorus  of  fault-finding  voices  of  the 
other  genres  is  joined  by  the  ominous  note  of  a 
powerful  drama  like  La  Robe  Rouge,  we  may  infer 
that  it  is  time  for  the  judiciary  to  clean  house. 
Such  is  unequivocally  Brieux' s  opinion. 

Mauleon,  the  seat  of  a  third-class  judicial  district 
near  the  Spanish  border,  is  in  disfavour  at  the 

'  Dostoevski  and  Tolstoy  took  the  standpoint  that  the  judge 
did  not  have  the  right  to  judge  his  fellow-men.  The  author  of 
Resurrection  based  his  argument  on  a  literal  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures. 

^  Victor  Hugo,  it  will  be  remembered,  puts  the  galley-slave 
above  the  judge  and  describes  pathetically  "a  convict's  last 
day."  He  incarnated  in  Laffemas,  who  was  intended  to  personify 
the  magistracy  (Marion  Delorme),  all  that  was  odious  and  detest- 
able. At  the  date  of  Les  Chdtiments  (1852),  his  wrath  had  not 
cooled  in  the  least, 

^  Contrary  to  Tocqueville,  critics  usually  hold  that  dramatic 
literature  lags  behind  the  novel;  but  this  conservative  tendency 
makes  its  diagnosis  the  more  trustworthy. 


The  French  Magistracy  335 

Ministry  of  Justice  because  of  its  low  percentage 
of  capital  convictions.  But  Vagret,  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  of  the  place,  after  repeated  disap- 
pointment over  the  preferment  of  younger  and  less 
deserving  colleagues,  will  at  last  be  able  to  don  the 
"red  robe,"  if  he  can  find  and  convict  the  author 
of  a  murder  just  committed  in  the  district.  The 
theory  of  the  first  examining  magistrate  having 
broken  down,  Vagret  gives  the  case  to  Mouzon, 
who  guarantees  the  arrest  of  the  assassin  within 
three  days.  And  Mouzon  finds  his  man  in  Etche- 
pare,  a  Basque  peasant,  Vv^ho  owed  the  aged  victim 
of  the  crime  a  life  annuity  and  who  was  financially 
embarrassed  at  the  time. 

Etchepare  pleads  not  guilty,  declaring  that  he 
was  at  home  the  night  of  the  murder,  but  his 
neighbours  refute  him  with  hearsay  and  circum- 
stancial  evidence.  The  poor  fellow,  confused  and 
intimidated,  abandons  his  first  line  of  defence  for 
another,  only  to  contradict  himself  more  than 
before.  Taking  advantage  of  this,  Mouzon  pleads 
with  him,  threatens  him,  and  resorts  to  all  the 
insidious  ruses  known  to  the  strategy  of  the  cross- 
examiner,  trying  finally  to  wrest  a  confession  from 
the  prisoner  in  the  name  of  his  children.  But 
Etchepare,  still  protesting  his  innocen'ce,  exclaims : 
*'If  I  am  not  guilty,  must  I  nevertheless  say  that  I 
am  guilty?"^  Even  his  court  record  {easier 
judiciaire) ,  from  which  Mouzon  expected  important 

^  This  scene   (ii,   7)  is  the  best  in  the  play.     Brieux  shows 
the  same  dramatic  power  in  Act  I  of  Simone. 


:^2>^       Brieux  and  French  Society 

results — which  in  fact  gave  him  the  "material 
certainty'*  of  the  prisoner's  guilt — even  this  fails  to 
produce  the  desired  effect,  though  it  does  show  that 
the  peasant  has  been  fined  several  times  for  dis- 
orderly conduct.  Mouzon  has  Etchepare  taken 
back  to  his  cell  and  then  proceeds  to  examine  the 
wife,  Yanetta.  Her  court  record  reveals  a  liaison 
with  her  employer's  son,  whom  she  shielded  in 
larceny  when  she  was  a  girl  working  in  Paris,  but 
attests  her  exemplary  conduct  as  a  wife  and  mother 
since  her  marriage  to  Etchepare,  who  knows 
nothing  of  her  "fault."  Yanetta  beseeches  Mou- 
zon not  to  reveal  this,  for  fear  that  her  husband 
will  take  her  children  from  her  and  drive  her  from 
home.  She  is  made  to  believe  that  Etchepare  will 
virtually  be  set  free  if  he  confesses,  so  in  the  next 
scene,  persuaded  of  his  guilt,  she  urges  him  to  do 
so.  Mouzon  tries  to  confound  each  with  the 
other's  testimony.  But  once  more  convinced  of 
her  husband's  innocence,  Yanetta  loudly  defies 
the  magistrate  and  refuses  to  sign  her  deposition, 
whereupon  Mouzon  places  her  under  arrest  as  an 
accomplice. 

The  brilliant  attorney  for  the  defence  brings 
the  jury  to  tears,  in  a  pathetic  appeal,  and  seems 
to  cHnch  a  verdict  of  acquittal;  but  Vagret's 
speech  sways  both  jury  and  audience  in  the 
opposite  direction,  making  a  conviction  certain.^ 

^  Emotional  oratory  is  now  rare  before  the  French  bar.  The 
persuasive  eloquence  of  a  Berryer,  a  Jules  Favre,  a  Gambetta 
made  a  powerful  appeal  to  the  heart  and  the  conscience,  to  the 


The  French  Magistracy  337 

Then  near  the  end  of  his  triumph,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  all,  he  suddenly  requests  an  intermission. 
Grave  doubts  about  the  defendant's  guilt  having 
arisen  in  his  mind,  Vagret  wants  to  consult  the 
Presiding  Judge  and  the  Attorney  General,  who 
has  just  come  to  Mauleon  on  official  business, 
before  sealing  the  prisoner's  fate.  ^  All  crowd 
around  the  victorious  attorney  to  congratulate 
him.  But  when  the  Attorney  General  and  the 
Presiding  Judge  learn  of  Vagret's  "stupid  inten- 
tion"— that  is,  his  resolve  to  communicate  his 
doubts  to  the  jury — they  turn  from  him  in  con- 
tempt and  anger,  since  their  sole  concern  is  to  avoid 
a  technical  error,  v/hich  would  go  down  on  record 
against  them.  They  consider  such  an  error 
infinitely  more  lamentable  than  the  conviction  of 
an  innocent  person.  Undeterred  by  this  attitude, 
Vagret  explains  his  doubts  to  the  jury,  notwith- 
standing his  wife's  efforts  to  calm  his  scruples 
of  conscience,  and  in  spite  of  his  own  profound 


judge's  sense  of  justice  and  the  jury's  sense  of  pity.  As  late  as 
about  1850  judicial  pleading,  larded  with  philosophy,  sentiment, 
and  the  tearful  pathos  of  the  preceding  century,  was  still  based 
largely  on  natural  equity.  But  by  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  these  ornaments  had  all  been  discarded,  leaving  only  a 
plain  exposition  of  the  facts.  (E.  Pouillet,  "La  Plaidoirie  dans 
la  Langue  fr.,"  Rev.  Bleue,  May  22,  1897.)  Nowadays,  accord- 
ing to  Raymond  Poincare,  an  eloquent  advocate  indulges  in 
oratory  only  when  his  cause  needs  it,  that  is,  scarcely  one  time 
in  a  hundred.     Ibid.,  July  6,  1907. 

^  Similar  instances  are  mentioned  in  Sous  la  Toque,  a  novel 
on  judicial  manners  by  A.  Juhelle, 
22 


33^       Brieux  and  French  Society 

regret  at  seeing  the  robe  rouge  ^  slip  from  his  grasp. 
The  Presiding  Judge,  who  is  in  great  fear  of  miss- 
ing his  train,  receives  the  verdict  of  acquittal 
with  complete  indifference;  but  Vagret  is  pleased, 
although  he  knows  that  Mouzon  has  been  ap- 
pointed conseiller,  thanks  to  the  political  influence 
of  his  Gascon  friend,  Mondoubleau,  the  repre- 
sentative in  Parliament  from  their  district. 

Etchepare*s  situation  is  expressed  in  his  words 
to  the  court  clerk:  "I  am  acquitted,  but  my 
life  is  ruined."  For,  since  Mouzon  has  disclosed 
Yanetta's  secret  to  him,  all  happiness  is  lost. 
The  wife  pleads  imploringly  for  pardon,  but 
Etchepare,  as  a  true  Basque,  repudiates  her. 
He  and  his  mother  will  emigrate  with  his  children 
to  South  America,  for  his  neighbours  have  not 
only  maligned  and  slandered  them  since  his  arrest, 
but  have  caused  them  irreparable  financial  loss. 

So  the  cynical  Mouzon  alone  triumphs — 
Mouzon,  *^ce  juge  ambitieux,  complaisant  aux 
politiciens,  oiiblieux  de  ses  devoirs,  entete  dans  ses 
partis  prisy^"^  who  excels  in  collecting  postage 
stamps  and  carousing  with  low  women.  A  conclu- 
sion here  would  have  been  natural,  but  Brieux 
preferred  to  send  his  audience  home  satisfied 
by  letting  Yanetta  plunge  a  dagger  through  the 

^  In  order  to  obliterate  even  the  official  costumes  of  the  Old 
Regime,  the  Constituent  Assembly  abolished  the  red  robe  of  the 
judiciary  in  1790.  (A.  Casenave,  Les  Trihunaux  civ,  de  Paris 
pend.  la  Rev.,  i,  p.  xl.)  The  time-honoured  colour  was  restored 
under  the  First  Empire. 

^  F.  Veuillot,  Les  Predicateurs  de  la  Scene,  p.  159. 


The  French  Magistracy  339 

unscrupulous  flatterer's  heart.  Thus  the  only  act 
of  justice  in  this  drama  on  the  magistracy  is  the 
assassination  of  a  judge. 

t    It  is  impossible  of  course  in  a  summary  to  make 
clear   the   technical    excellences   of   a   play.     No 
other  from  Brieux's  pen  so  skilfully  interweaves 
so  many  important  elements  in  an  artistic  whole 
as  La  Robe  Rouge,     The  dramatic  action  develops 
the  question  of  Etchep are's  fate,  which  in  turn  de- 
pends on  the  final  triumph  of  Mouzon's  ambition 
or  Vagret's  conscience.     The  trial  serves  to  place 
side  by   side  in   striking   contrast   an  intriguing       , 
magistrate,  who  by  political  wire-pulling  overcomes      ^ 
all  obstacles  to  his  promotion,  and  a  conscientious    , 
magistra,te    to    whom — and    to    whose    wife — the     \ 
red  robe  is  very  dear,  but  who  disdains  it  at  the    / 
price    of    his    professional    honour.     The    author  / 
himself  shows  equal  artistic  conscience  in  dispens- 
ing with  what  are  usually  regarded  as  dramatic; 
essentials — the  love  element  in  the  plot  (an  inno- 
vation   which    succeeds    so    brilliantly    that    the 
dramatic  interest   does  not  lag  for  a  moment), 
elaborate  scenic  effects,  and  comedy  to  relieve  his 
seriousness.     He   limits    dramatic    accessories    to 
manners  and  the  development  of  characters,  again 
with  brilliant  success.     In  no  play  of  Brieux's  are 
the  people  more  alive  than  here.     If  one  is  to  be 
distinguished  above  the  others  in  the  generally 
excellent  picture  of  provincial  manners,  it  is  the 
unscrupulous,  hypocritical  examining  judge,  Mou- 
zon.     H.  Pr  ad  ales  does  not  exaggerate  when  he 


340       Brieux  and  French  Society 

says:     "//  nest  pas  de  peinture  plus  nettCy  plus 
energique  que  celle  de  cet  egoiste.''^ '' 

The  exposition,  too,  is  remarkably  successful. 
Brieux  foreshadows  all  the  points  to  be  developed 
in  the  play,  and  thanks  to  his  spokesman.  La 
Bouzule,  an  elderly  judge,  we  can  distinguish 
two  groups  of  magistrates,  the  old  school  and  the 
new — an  alignment  which  points  to  the  probable 
result  by  arraying  Vagret  and  Mouzon  in  different 
camps. 

La  Bouzule,  now  on  the  verge  of  retirement  and 
hence  at  liberty  to  unburden  his  conscience,  as- 
cribes the  ills  of  the  magistracy  to  "the  fever  for 
advancement,"   which,   he  says,   causes  many   a 
magistrate,   who  would  not  modify  his  decision 
for  money,   to  be  subservient   to   an  influential 
y  elector,    a   deputy,    or   a   cabinet    minister   with 
''    favours  and  offices  at  his  disposal.     This  malady, 
the  "reasoner"  goes  on  to  say,  can  be  traced  to 
I   universal  suffrage,  which  he  calls  "the  god  and 
'    tyrant  of  the  magistracy."    If  we  add  the  tendency 
of  the  "powers  that  be"  to  measure  a  court  of 
justice  by  its  number  of  convictions,  we  see  the 
magistrate's  goal  and  what  he  deems  the  best  way 
of  reaching  it;  also  his  moral  weakness  and  its 
cause.     Given  his  sincere  feeling — which  he  im- 
bibes from  the  Code — that  an  accused  person  is 
assumed  to  be  guilty  until  proved  innocent,  we 
understand    his   inclination    to   regard    witnesses 
for  the  defence  as  deliberate  falsifiers,  whenever 
^  Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  14,  190 1. 


The  French  Magistracy  34^ 

their  testimony  tends  to  disprove  his  preconceived 
theory.  Now  if  we  add  to  this  explanation  of  the 
attitude  of  the  French  magistracy  in  general,  the 
motives  (already  set  forth)  of  the  characters  of 
the  play  and  the  particular  situation  in  which  they 
find  themselves — all,  be  it  remembered,  brought 
out  by  the  exposition,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  well 
Brieux  understands  Dumas's  famous  ^^art  des 
preparations,''  and  how  in  La  Robe  Rouge,  which  is 
essentially  a  piece  a  idees,  he  combines  thought 
v/ith  perfect  structure  of  plot.  ^ 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  play  was  acclaimed  by 
literary  critics  as  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  recent 
drama — a  verdict  sustained  by  the  French  Academy, 
which  very  properly  crowned  the  Vv^ork.i^But  the 
gens  de  robe,  naturally,  were  less  enthusiastic.  A. 
Desjardins,  of  the  French  Supreme  Court,  declares 
that  La  Robe  Rouge  is  the  cleverest,  most  complete 
and  systematic  attack  ever  directed  against  the 
French  magistracy  by  dramatic  literature.  He 
congratulates  the  author  on  his  "malice  which 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired,"  but  asserts  that 
Brieux' s  conception  of  the  magistracy  is  based  on 
exceptional  cases.  Far  more  severe  is  Octave 
Tixier,  who  speaks  contemptuously  of  Brieux's 
"ridiculous  and  odious  marionettes"  and  accuses 
him  of  gross  ignorance  of  judicial  matters.^    An- 

^  Additional  matters  brought  out  are :  the  insufficient  salaries 
of  magistrates  and  their  reluctance  to  live  in  the  smaller  provin- 
cial cities;  the  presumption  of  the  press  to  decide  the  merits  of  a 
judicial  case,  and  the  influence  exerted  upon  the  Department  of 
Justice  by  this  meddling.  ^  Rev.  Bleue,  Oct.  i,  1904. 


342        Brieux  and  French  Society 

other  critic  advances  the  opinion  that  La  Robe 
Rouge  is  not  directed  against  the  magistracy  at 
all,  but  only  against  the  law.  ^  Finally,  Maitre 
Jules  Borde,  a  prominent  memiber  of  the  French 
bar,  produces  conclusive  evidence  to  show  that  the 
play  is  a  satire  on  both  the  magistracy  and  the 
law.  He  denies,  however,  that  the  author  did 
wrong  in  composing  the  work,  to  which  he  justly 
concedes  great  social  significance.^  In  almost 
every  case,  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  Brieux* s 
criticisms  are  just,  even  if,  sometimes  necessarily, 
severe.  The  most  specific  of  these  criticisms  are 
addressed  in  part  to  the  magistracy,  in  part  to 
the  Code  and  the  judicial  organism.  Sometimes 
it  happens  that  both  are  at  fault. 

The  first  general  defect  of  the  French  judicial 
organism  emphasized  in  La  Robe  Rouge  is  the 
starvation  salaries.  Vagret,  after  long  years  of 
service,  receives  less  than  eighty  dollars  a  month, 
yet  he  must  entertain,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
dignity  of  his  office.^  No  wonder  that  Mme. 
Vagret   advises  their  daughter  not   to   marry   a 

^  A.  Kahn,  Le  Thedtre  Soc.  eyi  France,  p.  159. 

^  Discours  sur  la  Robe  Rouge,  p.  27.  Mattre  Borde 's  masterly 
essay  of  criticism  constitutes  an  authoritative  document,  which 
we  shall  quote  repeatedly  in  this  chapter. 

3  O.  Tixier  remarks  naively:  "II  est  tout  a  fait  faux  de  sou- 
tenir  qu'un  magistrat  soit  contraint  de  donner  des  diners  et 
des  receptions;  il  depend  de  sa  volontd  de  s'affranchir  de  telles 
obligations."  {Rev.  Bleue,  Oct.  i,  1904.)  Aguesseau,  whose  ideal 
was  the  austere  simplicity  of  the  early  Roman  Republic,  de- 
nounces what  he  calls  the  pomp  and  luxury  of  the  French  magis- 
tracy in  practically  all  his  Mercuriales. 


The  French  Magistracy  343 

magistrate.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Magis- 
trates' League,  in  1914,  resolutions  were  adopted 
urging  that  their  ^'traitements  de  miser e  et  de  fa- 
mine'' be  raised  without  delay,  since  these  salaries, 
originally  inadequate,  have  remained  stationary 
for  nearly  fifty  years,  during  which  time  the  cost 
of  living  has  rapidly  increased.^  Sometimes  a 
magistrate  must  wait  over  thirty  years  before  re- 
ceiving a  salary  of  six  hundred  dollars.  "^  English 
magistrates,  according  to  Maitre  Borde,  are  paid 
eight  or  ten  times  as  much  as  their  French  col- 
leagues. ^  This  fact  and  the  absence  of  a  fixed 
scale  of  promotion,  says  Maitre  Borde,  keep  many 
able  men  from  the  judicial  profession  and  force 
many  who  enter  it  to  resort  to  intrigue  in  the  hope 
of  obtaining  a  promotion  which  will  enable  them 
to  maintain  the  dignity  of  their  calling.  "*  It  is 
indisputable  that  to  those  who  would  judge  others, 
a  certain  material  prestige  is  fully  as  important  as 
moral  prestige.  Even  the  saintly  character  of  a 
shabby,  untidy  judge  like  Balzac's  Popinot  does  not 
suffice  to  save  him  from  the  list  of  the  decl asses. 

The  tendency  to  seek  promotion  through  in- 
trigue, which  is  a  characteristic  manifestation  of  the 
fievre  de  Vavancement,  leads  to  one  of  the  cardinal 
faults  of  the  magistracy.  According  to  La 
Bouzule,  many  magistrates,  instead  of  regarding 


*  "L'Amicale  de  la  Magistrature,  "  Matin,  Apr.  19, 1914. 
^  F.  Malepeyre,  La  Magistrature  en  France  (1900),  p.  182. 

3  Discours,  p.  34. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  37.     Cf.  A.  Juhelle,  Sous  la  Toque,  p.  386. 


344       Brieux  and  French  Society 

their  vocation  as  a  priesthood,  consider  it  a  career; 
hence  their  sole  concern  is  to  "arrive."^  We  see 
Brieux's  emphatic  condemnation  of  this  attitude 
in  the  contemptible  efforts  of  Mouzon  to  curry- 
favour  with  all  who  can  be  of  service  to  him. 
Maitre  Borde  tells  us  that  as  early  as  1859  the 
Minister  of  Justice  forbade  magistrates  to  solicit 
vacant  offices,  but  that  all  measures  failed  to 
check  the  abuse,  which  a  subsequent  minister  had 
the  courage  to  stigmatize  openly  in  the  Senate  as 
'Hhe  sore  of  the  magistracy."'' 
/  Another  evil  is  the  obsequiousness  of  the 
magistracy  towards  the  press,  which  dispenses 
praise  and  censure,  makes  or  destroys  reputations. 
Brieux  implies  that  the  judiciary,  like  opera  sing- 
ers, dread  an  unfavourable  "write-up."^    Maitre 

*  Tolstoy  says  of  the  Russian  magistracy:  "They  are  officials. 
They  receive  their  salaries  and  want  them  increased,  and  there 
their  principles  end."  {Resurrection,  vol.  i,  bk.  ii,  ch.  ii.)  La 
Robe  Rouge  has  a  number  of  features  in  common  with  Resurrec- 
tion, but  as  Tolstoy's  work  was  not  translated  into  French  until 
1900,  it  is  unlikely  that  Brieux  had  read  it,  though  he  doubtless 
knew  Tolstoy's  general  attitude.  Tolstoy's  arraignment  of  the 
magistracy  is  on  the  whole  quite  as  severe  as  Brieux's.  In  part  i, 
book  i,  he  says:  "The  public  prosecutor  was  very  ambitious 
and  had  firmly  made  up  his  mind  to  get  on.  He  therefore  thought 
it  necessary  to  obtain  a  conviction  whenever  he  prosecuted." 

^  Discours,  p.  38.  According  to  F.  Malepeyre,  this  shameful 
intriguing  began  in  1852,  following  an  imperial  decree  fixing  the 
age  of  retirement  for  magistrates.  La  Magistrature  en  France, 
p.  147. 

3  The  reason  for  this  servility  is  clear  from  a  remark  of  Rend 
Doumic,  who  says  of  the  magistrate:  "Le  souci  de  ne  pas  com- 
promettre  son  avancement  se  mele  a  toutec  ses  demarches,  infiue 
sur  tous  ses  actes."     Deux  Mondes,  Apr.  i,  1900. 


The  French  Magistracy  345 

Borde  declares  that  you  will  find  the  greatest 
number  of  reporters  neither  at  the  Prime  Minis- 
ter's nor  at  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior,  but  in  the 
anterooms  of  examining  magistrates. '  According 
to  ex-President  Loubet,  many  a  judge  talks  too 
much  and  betrays  professional  secrets. "^  "The 
newspapers,"  says  one  of  Paul  Adam's  characters, 
"decide  in  advance  for  or  against  conviction. 
Imbued  with  the  arguments  of  the  press,  jurymen 
have  their  minds  made  up  before  the  trial  begins.  ^ " 
The  Steinheil  case  (1908)  and  the  Cadiou  case 
(1914)  are  striking  instances  of  the  efforts  of  the 
press  to  discredit  the  magistracy  by  forcing  public 
opinion.  4  The  evil  is  the  greater  because,  as 
Balzac  makes  a  judge  declare  in  one  of  his  novels, I 
"journalism  can  assert  and  suppose  everything, 
but  our  dignity  forbids  us  to  reply."  ^  ^ 

*  Discours,  p.  43. 

^  Ibid.  Henry  Bordeaux  observes:  "In  theory,  an  examin- 
ing magistrate  should  surround  himself  with  mystery  and  silence; 
in  practice,  the  judicial  personnel  constantly  force  his  door  and 
v\Test  his  secrets  from  him."     Le  Lac  Noir,  ch.  iv. 

3  Robes  Rouges,  p.  228.  A.  Juhelle  thinks  that  examining 
magistrates,  having  a  mortal  dread  of  the  press,  often  are  them- 
selves intimidated  by  popular  manifestations.  Sous  la  Toque, 
pp.  97,  261. 

4E.  Faguet  remarks  that  both  the  provincial  and  the  Paris 
press  are  almost  invariably  disposed  to  regard  accused  as  so 
many  "irresponsibles."     Culte  de  V Incompetence,  p.  163. 

^  V Interdiction,  p.  291.  Louis  Bruyerre  thinks  that  this 
magisterial  dignity  may  be  false.  In  Le  Devoir,  his  judge  is 
cold,  cruel,  and  even  corrupt — all  in  order  to  preserve  the  tradi- 
tional austerity  of  the  profession.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
earlier.  La  Bruyere  spoke  of  "judges  .  .  .  whom  a  too  great 
affectation  to  appear  incorruptible  makes  unjust."     (Caracteres, 


34^       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Then,  too,  there  is  the  deplorable  political 
dependence  of  the  magistracy.  Whatever  other 
reasons  we  may  have  suggested  for  their  intrigue 
and  servility,  the  fundamental  one  must  be  sought 
in  their  relation  to  their  employer:  the  govern- 
ment. Evidently  the  term  permanency  is  a 
fiction  so  long  as  the  government  may  withhold 
promotion  from  those  who  refuse  to  do  its  will. 
In  La  Robe  Rouge ^  the  "reasoner  "  tells  us  that  only 
those  without  ambition  and  material  wants  have 
the  courage  to  assert  their  so-called  independence. 
Nor  does  the  government  fail  to  exert  pressure 
freely,  if  we  are  to  believe  Emile  Faguet,  who 
writes:  "The  ordinary  thing  is  for  the  govern- 
ment to  interfere  in  judicial  cases.  As  a  rule, 
too,  deputies  meddle  personally  in  judicial  mat- 
ters." He  asserts  that  when  it  is  a  question  of 
a  political  case,  the  French  magistracy  does  not 
feel  responsible,  since  its  office  is  only  to  serve  as 
the  government's  mouth-piece.  When  the  govern- 
ment is  a  party  in  a  suit,  it  insists  on  taking  charge 
in  order  to  prevent  an  unfavourable  decision, 
which  would  be  inadmissible. '  This  abuse  can  be 
traced  back  many  years.  Seguier's  oft-quoted 
retort  to  Charles  X:  "The  Court  renders  judg- 
ments, not  services,"  owes  its  vogue  and  impor- 
tance to  its   spirit.^    We    have    noted   Balzac's 

ch.  xiv.)  In  1708,  Aguesseau  censured  the  same  fault.  Eleventh 
Mercuriale. 

*  L'Horreur  des  Responsahilites, 

^Thanks  to  this  incident,  the  magistracy  is  said  to  have 
enjoyed  a  certain  popularity  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 


The  French  Magistracy  347 

incriminaticn  of  the  magistracy  under  Louis- 
Philippe.  A  more  recent  writer  generalizes  the 
accusation  and  avers  that  the  magistrate  has 
been  a  functionary,  an  agent  of  the  government, 
under  every  regime.  ^  At  any  rate,  F.  Malepeyre  is 
convinced  that  both  despotic  and  liberal  govern- 
ments in  France  always  have  endeavoured  to  have 
justice  at  their  disposal.^  According  to  Becque, 
when  the  government  orders  a  magistrate  to  lie 
down,  he  obeys  without  a  murmur.  ^  The  wisdom, 
if  not  the  necessity,  of  this  obedience  is  attested 
by  so  many  writers  that  Paul  Flat  justly  concludes : 
"A  magistrate's  promotion  is  impossible  without 
political  protection." '^     It  is  Mouzon's  "pull"  with 

^  A.  Juhell^,  Sous  la  Toque,  p.  271.  On  page  285  of  this  work 
we  read:  "A  deputy's  protection  availed  a  magistrate  seeking 
promotion  more  than  did  the  greatest  personal  merit."  Day- 
grand,  a  member  of  the  judiciary  in  Emile  Fabre's  Les  Vain- 
queurs,  is  everywhere  guided  by  the  principle  that  a  magistrate's 
promotion  depends  on  his  political  "pull."  In  Barres's  Les 
Deracines  (ch.  xx),  Bouteiller  solicits  the  intervention  of  the 
Minister  on  behalf  of  his  proteges. 

^  La  Magistrature  en  France,  p.  212. 

3  Les  PoHchinelles,  iii,  16.  While  the  notary  is  perhaps  the 
most  despicable  character  in  Les  Corbeaux,  yet  somehow  we  feel 
that  the  author  does  not  intend  him  as  a  normal  representative  of 
the  magistracy.  At  any  rate,  there  can  be  no  direct  comparison 
of  Becque's  drama  with  Brieux's,  for  Bourdon  does  not,  like  the 
magistrates  in  La  Robe  Rouge,  owe  his  moral  corruption  to  such 
semi-honourable  ambient  influences,  so  to  speak,  as  ambition 
and  the  faults  of  the  profession,  but  rather  to  the  inherent  weak- 
ness of  his  character. 

^ Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  5,  190S.  "Si  nous  examinons  la  carri^re 
du  magistrat  frangais,"  observes  Prevost-Paradol,  "nous  verrons 
qu'il  n'est  pas  un  seul  instant  de  son  existence  ou  il  n'ait  a  d^sirer 


34^        Brieux  and  French  Society 

Mondoublcau,  the  deputy,  that  wins  him  the 
"red  robe"  of  a  conseiller,  an  honour  whieh,  to  be 
sure,  he  does  not  live  to  enjoy.  And  a  patron,  in 
order  to  have  the  greater  number  of  dependents, 
exerts  himself  to  be  in  favour  with  the  Minister  of 
Justice.  When  a  deputy  can  boast  of  being  on 
terms  of  "thee"  and  "  thou"  with  the  Minister,  his 
influence  attains  its  apogee.  This  is  the  good 
fortune  of  Mouzon^s  Gascon  protector,  who  al- 
ways takes  pains  to  speak  of  the  Minister  of  Justice 
as  ^^ Eiigcne.''^  This  tutelage  constitutes  the 
gravest  of  menaces  to  the  judiciary.  If  the  peril 
is  not  checked,  it  will  poison  the  whole  organism, 
so  affording  Paul  Bourget's  socialist  prime  minister, 
Portal,  the  desired  opportunity  of  "cutting  into 
the  gangrene  of  the  magistracy,"^  unless  another 
storm  like  that  of  Ninety-Two  should  sweep  away 
both  laws  and  judges,  as  the  Margueritte  brothers 
seem  to  predict.^  As  Guizot  has  said,  when 
politics  penetrates  the  enclosure  of  a  tribunal, 
Justice  must  leave.  Only  a  radical,  organic 
reform  seriously  guaranteeing  the  independence 
of  the  magistracy  can  abolish  this  crying  abuse.  ^ 


dc  montcr  et  ou  il  puissc  montcr  sans  que  Ic  pouvoir  cx6cutif 
veuillc  bicn  lui  tcndre  la  main."  La  France  Nouvcllc  (1868),  p. 
160. 

*  Le  Trihun  (191 1),  i,  6. 

^  Les  Deux  Vies,  pt.  v,  ch.  i.  In  both  Le  Ca^ur  et  la  Lot, 
by  the  same  authors,  and  F.  Vanddrcm's  La  Victime  a  tribunal 
president  is  influenced  by  recommendations. 

3  Nos  Magistrals  (1900),  a  four-act  drama  \)y  Artliur  Bern6dc, 
treats  the  theme  of  intrigue,  bribery,  and  traffic  in  aj^pointments 


The  French  Magistracy  349 

A  grave  fault  of  the  magistracy  which  unlike 
those  just  enumerated  it  is  within  their  power  to 
correct,  is  the  danger  of  following  a  preconceived 
theory,  till  officers  of  the  law  regard  all  witnesses 
for  the  defence  as  imbeciles  or  liars  and  endeavour 
to  force  a  confession,  sincerely  believing  that  their 
theory  of  the  crime  must  be  the  correct  one.  ^ 
La  Robe  Rouge  suggests  that  the  old  school  of 
magistrates  was  almost  entirely  free  from  this 
failing^;  for  Delorme  soon  releases  his  vagabond, 
whom  indeed  he  has  arrested  merely  to  satisfy 
the  clamour  of  the  press.  Vagret,  however,  in  his 
feverish  desire  for  a  capital  conviction,  is  forced  to 
admit:  "In  studying  the  case,  I  had  so  completely 
conceived  in  advance  the  theory  of  Etchepare's 
guilt,  that  Vv4ien  an  argument  in  his  favour  presented 


in  the  Department  of  Justice.  In  order  to  get  her  husband,  a 
provineial  prosecuting  attorney,  transferred  to  Paris,  ATme. 
Rimbert  becomes  the  mistress  of  the  first  assistant  of  the  Minister 
of  Justice.  This  assistant,  Brindeau,  who  shields  defrauders  and 
criminals  for  bribes,  obtains  the  appointment  of  Rimbert  as 
examining  magistrate  in  the  capital.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  when  his  traffic  is  discov^ered,  the  case  is  given  for  investiga- 
tion to  the  upright  Rimbert,  who  does  not  know  that  he  owes 
his  appointment  to  Brindeau.  The  latter  commits  suicide. 
Mme.  Rimbert,  profoundly  repentant,  hopes  that  her  husband 
will  pardon  her. 

'^  Cf.  U Affaire  Mathieu  (1901),  by  Tristan  Bernard.  Of  his 
two  examining  magistrates,  one  is  energetic,  the  other,  timid, 
but  both  are  equally  apt  at  constructing  theories,  which  they 
consider  so  many  tangible  facts,  while  refusing  to  admit  the 
most  self-evident  truth,  if  it  conflicts  with  their  "system." 

'It  is,  however,  evident  from  Aguesseau's  17th  Mercuriale 
{La  Prevention^  17 14),  that  he  foresaw  this  weakness. 


350        Brieux  and  French  Society 

itself  to  my  mind,  I  rejected  it  emphatically  with  a 
shrug  of  my  shoulders."'  As  soon  as  his  better 
nature  has  reasserted  itself,  we  learn  that  the 
cause  of  his  weakness  was  the  very  nature  of  the 
magistrate's  profession,  which  morally  deforms 
those  who  practice  it.  ^  Magistrates  are  inclined 
to  regard  every  suspect  as  an  accused,  and  every 
accused  as  guilty.  ^  Or  as  Daudet  says,  examining 
magistrates  see  assassins  everywhere.  ^    That  here 


^  Pr^vost-Paradol  speaks  of  "cette  recherche  obstin^e  de 
I'aveu,  qui  est  le  fl6au  traditionnel  de  notre  procedure."  La 
France  Nouvelle,  p.  i8i. 

^  In  the  Goncourt  Journal  for  Feb.  14,  1877,  we  read:  "The 
wife  of  our  Presiding  Judge  said  to  Flaubert:  'We  are  very- 
happy.  My  husband  has  not  had  a  single  acquittal  during  the 
session.'  " 

G.  Leroux's  drama,  La  Maison  des  Juges,  develops  the  theme 
that  the  magistrate's  profession  makes  him  cruel  in  spite  of  him- 
self. We  see  the  consequences  of  this  acquired  cruelty  in  Octave 
Alirbeau's  one-act  play,  Le  Porkfeuille  (1902).  An  honest  but 
penniless  old  man  brings  to  the  commissary  of  police  a  purse 
containing  10,000  francs,  which  he  has  found.  The  official,  at 
first  delighted  and  amazed,  discovers  that  the  man  is  homeless 
and  without  an  occupation,  and  so  he  immediately  locks  him  up 
as  a  vagabond. 

3  Maltre  Borde  quotes  an  authority  who  asserts  that  the  exam- 
ining magistrate  regards  the  accusation  not  as  an  hypothesis  to  be 
verified,  but  as  a  theorem  to  be  demonstrated  and  terminated 
with  the  classic  Q.  E.  D.  Maitre  Borde  says  that,  when  in  a 
certain  trial  the  defendant  protested  his  innocence,  the  judge 
thundered  forth:     "Well,  prove  it,  then!" 

4  Marie- Joseph  Chenier  characterizes  the  prisoner's  situation 
with  the  lines: 

"II  est  seul,  sans  conseil,  pres  d'un  juge  implacable, 
Qui  semble  avoir  besoin  de  le  trouver  coupable." 

Jean  Calas,  ii,  3. 


The  French  Magistracy  351 

is  one  of  the  cardinal  faults  of  the  French  system, 
Edouard  Rod  points  out  emphatically  in  V Inutile 
Effort.  ''We  in  England,"  says  his  solicitor, 
Bell,  "give  the  defendant  every  chance  of  defence. 
He  is  not  at  once  treated  as  if  the  accusation  were 
the  proof;  nor  do  we  lay  snares  to  embarrass  him 
as  you  do  in  France."^  It  follows  naturally  that 
but  scant  respect  is  shown  to  witnesses  for  the 
defence.  Anatole  France's  hero,  Crainquebille,  is 
convicted  in  spite  of  a  famous  surgeon's  emphatic 
testimony  in  his  favour,  because  the  judge  regards 
great  savants  like  Claude  Bernard  and  Pasteur 
as  subject  to  error,  whereas  a  policeman — a  mere 
official  number,  so  to  speak — cannot  be  mistaken. 
Such  incidents  force  Maitre  Borde  to  the  con- 
clusion that  "the  moment  a  witness  testifies  in 
favour  of  the  prisoner,  he  is  not  believed."^ 

Allied  to  this  last  fault  of  French  legal  pro- 
cedure is  the  tendency  to  humiliate  the  prisoner 
with  insulting  personal  remarks.     Bunerat  says  to 

Or  again,  he  deplores  the  ferocity  of  the  magistrate,  who, 
"   .  .  .  se  croyant  toujours  entoure  de  coupables, 
Voit  couler  d'un  oeil  sec  le  sang  de  ses  semblables." 

Ihid.y  iii,  4. 
^  Sometimes  this  magisterial  attitude  produces  humorous 
situations.  In  his  vaudeville,  La  Cagnotte  (1864),  Labiche  shows 
how  a  party  of  innocent  provincials,  who  have  come  to  Paris  to 
spend  the  money  accumulated  from  fines  at  cards,  are  suspected 
of  theft  and  arrested.  Their  banal  remarks  are  misconstrued  and 
charged  against  them.  Like  Alouzon,  the  judge  says  to  them: 
"In  your  own  interest  I  urge  you  to  confess."  CJ.  Alexandre 
Bisson's  La  Famille  Pont-Biquet. 
^  Discours,  p.  69. 


352       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Etchepare:  "Did  you  not  flay  two  sheep  on 
the  morning  of  the  crime?"  "Yes,"  repHes  the 
defendant.  "So  you  were  practicing  for  the 
deed?"  It  is  officially  recorded  that  a  judge 
once  said  to  a  witness:  "Because  your  father  is 
blind,  is  no  reason  why  you  should  be  deaf."^ 
The  most  revolting  form  of  this  abuse  consists  in 
the  use  of  the  court  record  as  damaging  evidence, 
particularly  when  the  magistrate  is  confronted  with 
the  danger  of  seeing  his  "theory"  break  down. 
Thus  in  La  Robe  Rouge,  Mouzon  not  only  mentions 
Etchepare's  previous  convictions,  but  also  exploits 
the  wife's  judicial  record  in  the  presence  of  her 
unsuspecting  husband.  And  so  this  model  wife 
and  mother,  after  having  atoned  for  her  crime 
during  ten  years  of  married  life,  finds  herself  a 
social  outcast,  driven  from  her  home,  bereft  of  her 
children,  and  scorned  by  an  enraged  husband.^ 
A  similar  tragic  situation  is  the  theme  of  UEn- 
qiiete  {The  Investigation,  1902),  a  drama  of  con- 
siderable merit  by  Georges  Henriot,  in  which  it 
serves  the  same  purpose — by  revealing  the  wife's 


^  Ihid.,  p.  71. 

^  Such  wanton  cruelty  would  satisfy  even  A.  Juhelle's  reaction- 
ary judge,  Haas,  who  maintains  that  there  are  times  when  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  find  a  culprit,  since  every  crime  de- 
mands its  expiation.  If  the  right  person  can  be  apprehended,  so 
much  the  better;  but  in  no  case  must  Justice  be  discredited. 
{Sous  la  Toque,  p.  no.)  Petrus  Lamarque,  Gaston  Leroux's 
"heroic  soldier  of  the  necessary  falsehood,"  who  advocates  this 
philosophy,  condemns  three  innocent  men  to  death,  in  order  to 
"reassure"  society.     La  Maison  des  Juges,  ii,  11. 


The  French  Magistracy  353 

fault,  to  wrest  a  confession  from  the  prisoner.' 
Maurice  Landay's  play,  La  Loi  de  Pardon  {The 
Law  of  Pardon,  1905),  is  likewise  a  protest  against 
exploitation  of  a  prisoner's  court  record.  Meriex, 
the  hero,  finding  that  his  easier  judiciaire  pursues 
him  everywhere,  condemns  the  injustice  in  the 
words:  "I  committed  a  crime,  it  is  true,  but  I 
have  paid  my  debt  to  society."  "^ 

Another  injustice  is  the  arrest  and  prosecution 
each  year  of  persons  for  crimes  that  they  have  not 
committed.  Release  after  a  varied  period  of 
detention  is  gratifying,  but  it  offers  the  victim 
very  incomplete  consolation  for  moral  and  material 
damages.  Maitre  Borde  cites  the  case  of  an  Alsa- 
tian butcher,  who  was  brought  back  to  France 
from  Algiers  in  handcuffs,  tried  on  a  false  charge, 
and  finally  released — w4th  a  vagabond's  return 
ticket.  The  court  which  had  taken  this  man  for  a 
thief  set  him  free  as  a  beggar.  ^  In  La  Robe  Rouge 
the  Etchepares  are  discharged  morally  and  finan- 
cially ruined;  yet,  w^hen  Vagret  expresses  pity  for 
them,  the  President  of  the  Assizes  says  with 
indignant  surprise:  ''Why,  they  are  acquitted; 
what  more  could  they  wish — a  pension?  "^ 

^  For  the  enraged  wife's  denunciation  of  the  Code,  see  Act 
I,  sc.  7. 

^  La  Loi  de  Pardon,  ii,  8.  Long  ago  Raymond  Poincare  urged 
the  enactment  of  a  law  tending  to  erase  the  stain  from  repentant 
ex-convicts.     Rev.  Bleue,  Mar.  ii,  1882. 

3  Discours,  p.  28. 

4  In  Le  Bon  Juge  (1901),  A.  Bisson's  light  caricature  of  the 
French  magistracy,  one  man  is  arrested  for  murder  on  an  anony- 

23 


354       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Fortunately  Vagret's  is  not  the  only  instance  of 
a  disinterested  desire  for  justice  recorded  in  recent 
French  literature.  In  Bordeaux's  Le  Lac  Noir 
{The  Black  Lake),  ajuge  d' instruction,  discovering 
his  fine-spun  theory  wrong,  appears  as  a  witness 
for  the  prisoner,  in  order  to  clear  him.  In  Gaston 
Leroux's  La  Maison  des  Juges  {The  Family  oj 
Judges,  1907),  a  very  humane  advocate-general, 
resolved  that  the  man  he  has  just  been  prosecuting 
shall  get  justice,  adopts  the  same  course.  ^  When 
Francois  Coppee's  prosecuting  attorney,  Lescuyer, 
recognizes  in  the  prisoner  his  own  illegitimate 
son,''  he  has  the  courage  to  take  upon  himself  the 
blame  for  the  young  man's  crime.  In  each  case, 
as  in  La  Robe  Rouge,  the  result  is  an  acquittal; 
but  the  attorney  incurs  the  contempt  of  his 
colleagues. 

Outside  of  the  judiciary,  no  doubt,  there  are 
plenty  of  people  who  believe  the  words  of  Berryer 
which  Vagret  quotes:  **It  is  better  to  set  ten 
guilty  persons  free  than  to  convict  one  who  is 
innocent."  Accordingly  the  public  excitement  at 
the  discovery  of  a  mistaken  conviction  justifies 
what  Mme.  de  Stael  says:  "When  an  innocent 
man  dies  on  the  scaffold,  successive  generations 

mous  accusation  and  confined  several  weeks  in  jail  before  being 
granted  a  hearing;  another  suffers  damage  because  there  are 
found  in  his  possession  counterfeit  securities,  which  he  has  bought 
in  good  faith.  To  our  delight,  the  author,  by  a  coup  de  theatre, 
turns  the  tables,  so  that  the  examining  judge  is  himself  arrested 
on  the  same  two  charges. 

*  Act  III,  sc.  3.  .  ^Le  Coupable,  p.  322.      _. 


The  French  Magistracy  355 

concern  themselves  about  his  misfortune,  whereas 
thousands  of  men  perish  in  a  battle,  yet  nobody 
inquires  about  their  fate."^  Recently  Jacques 
Dhur  has  interested  himself  so  much  in  the  victims 
of  judicial  errors  that  he  has  not  only  written  a 
drama  in  their  behalf,  A  la  Notivelle,  but  he  has 
investigated  the  claims  of  convicts  detained  on  the 
island  of  New  Caledonia  and  brought  about  the 
release  of  a  few  of  them.  It  has  been  pointed 
out  that  nowadays  an  unjust  conviction,  if  thus 
detected  later,  may  be  preferable  to  an  acquittal. 
For  the  victim  of  an  unjust  conviction,  according 
to  a  recent  law,  is  allowed  an  indemnity,  whereas 
such  persons  as  Etcheoare  and  the  Alsatian  butcher 
receive  nothing.  "^ 

But,  after  all,  .sympathy  is  sometimes  mis- 
placed, as  Paul  Masson-Forestier  shows,  with 
rare  talent,  in  Angoisses  de  Juge  {Judicial  Anguish, 
1898),  in  which  it  turns  out  that  the  man  whom 
the  jury  has  convicted,  in  order  to  ''preserve  the 
prestige  of  Justice" — although  the  examining  mag- 
istrate thinks  him  innocent  and  continues  with  true 
Voltairian  zeal  to  work  for  his  rehabilitation — sub- 
sequently makes  a  complete  confession  of  guilt.  ^ 


*  De  VAUemagne,  pt.  iii,  ch.  xiii. 

^  Voltaire,  who  protested  against  the  large  number  of  judicial 
errors,  demanded  an  indemnity  for  the  falsely  accused  (Com- 
mentaire  sur  les  Delits).  The  Cahiers  of  the  Etats  Generaux 
approved  his  demand,  after  Necker,  also,  had  advocated  it. 

3  Cf.  the  same  author's  Remords  d'Avocat  (1896),  a  novel 
depicting  a  solicitor's  "remorse"  for  obtaining  the  acquittal  of 
a  brutal  assassin. 


35^        Brieux  and  French  Society 

The  last  of  Brieux' s  charges  against  the  French 
judicial  system  which  we  shall  take  up  is  that  the 
dread  of  scandal  causes  high  officials  to  connive 
at  political  corruption.  The  Attorney-General, 
having  come  to  Mauleon  with  the  intention  of 
dismissing  Mouzon  for  disorderly  conduct  while 
on  a  spree  in  Bordeaux,  is  afraid  to  take  action 
because  an  editor  of  the  place  threatens  to  make 
capital  of  the  scandal  unless  Mouzon  is  trans- 
ferred to  some  other  post.  At  this  point,  Mouzon' s 
Gascon  protector,  the  deputy  Mondoubleau,  in- 
tervenes and  persuades  the  Attorney- General  to 
promote  his  protege,  instead  of  dismissing  him, 
since  "Eugene"  (the  Minister  of  Justice)  desires 
above  everything  else  to  prevent  scandal.  This 
happy  solution  reconciles  the  interests  of  all  con- 
cerned, whereas  an  attempt  to  remove  Mouzon 
would  have  spattered  the  togas  of  all  with  m.ud.  ^ 

Plenty  of  further  evidence  might  be  adduced  to 
corroborate  Brieux' s  strictures  on  the  magistracy — 
as  Paul  Adam's  Rohes  Rouges  (1891),  in  which  a 

^  An  identical  situation  in  A.  Juhelle's. novel,  Sous  la  Toque 
(P-  255),  where  each  successive  scandal  has  been  the  cause  of 
the  magistrate's  promotion. 

The  rather  frequent  allusions,  in  recent  French  literature, 
to  the  slack  morality  of  the  magistracy  should  be  taken  with 
reserve.  Alfred  Capus,  however,  says  that  the  casinos  of  the 
watering  places,  the  clubs  and  even  the  gambling  dens  of  Paris, 
were  much  frequented  by  the  younger  magistrates  of  twenty-five 
years  ago.  ("Joueurs  et  Magistrats,"  Figaro,  Oct.  16,  191 1.) 
Paul  Flat  recalls  the  time  when  a  certain  presiding  judge's  mother- 
in-law  followed  Mrs.  Warren's  profession.  Rev,  Bleue,  Apr. 
11,1914- 


The  French  Magistracy  357 

young  magistrate,  In  order  to  win  promotion, 
"invents"  an   assassin;   vet  onlv  one  more  such 

'  ^  ml 

work  is  distinctive  enough  to  warrant  considering 
it  in  detail  — Le  Lac  Noir  (1902),  the  novel  by 
Henry  Bordeaux  already  referred  to.  Though  in 
some  respects  the  work  most  closely  resembling 
La  Robe  Rouge,  it  gives  little  prominence  to  the 
''promotion  fever." 

Mme.  Fraizier,  a  young  peasant  woman  about 
to  become  a  mother,  is  disembowelled  by  an 
assassin,  who  cuts  the  child's  heart  out.  This 
circumstance,  the  juge  d' instruction,  Girardet,  at 
first  declares,  clearly  indicates  an  act  of  vengeance 
on  the  part  of  a  disappointed  suitor,  aimed  at  the 
victim's  offspring, — a  supposition  not  borne  out 
by  the  facts.  Girardet  next  hits  upon  the  theory 
of  an  act  of  judicial  vengeance,  for  which  French 
Savoy,  the  seat  of  the  crime,  is  famous.  This  time 
everything  confirms  his  suspicions.  The  woman's 
husband  has  had  a  long  lawsuit  with  his  neigh- 
bour, Lamadoux,  who,  it  is  said,  has  threatened 
to  choke  him.  Lamadoux  and  his  wife  are 
arrested,  and  all  tongues  get  busy.  Some  wit- 
nesses know  that  the  alleged  assassin  has  pre- 
meditated the  murder,  others  have  seen  him  come 
out  of  Fraizier' s  house,  etc.  ^  Like  Etchepare, 
Lamadoux  at  first  insists  that  he  was  far  away  at 
the  time;  but  when  his  alibi  breaks  down,   he 

^  As  soon  as  Paul  Adam's  alleged  criminal,  Denesolle,  was 
arrested,  accusing  witnesses  became  legion.  Robes  Rouges,  p. 
227. 


35^       Brieux  and  French  Society 

admits  that  he  was  at  home.  His  easier  judiciaire 
makes  his  case  hopeless,  so  that  Girardet,  resort- 
ing to  Mouzon's  tactics,  urges  him  to  confess.  In 
order  to  clinch  his  argument,  the  magistrate 
enumerates  the  offences  charged  against  the  pris- 
oner in  his  judicial  record.  And  upon  searching  the 
defendant's  house  again,  the  authorities  even  find 
the  dagger  used  by  the  assassin.  "My  doubts 
are  dissipated,"  says  Girardet.  "I  have  the 
murderer." 

Lamadoux  and  his  wife  are  held  for  the  grand 
jury,  although  the  defendant's  former  attorney 
(now  his  one  and  only  friend)  declares  emphatic- 
ally that  he  is  quite  incapable  of  committing  such 
a  crime.  It  does  seem  odd  that,  in  order  to  avenge 
himself  on  Fraizier,  Lamadoux  should  attack  his 
wife  in  such  a  fiendish  manner.  But  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  pronounces  Girardet' s  act  of  accusa- 
tion a  veritable  masterpiece.  The  certainty  of 
a  clear-cut  conviction  rejoices  his  heart,  in  view 
of  the  numerous  acquittals  of  the  preceding  session. 
Not  only  will  this  put  an  end  to  the  scandal,  but 
also  it  may  bring  him  his  much  desired  promotion 
and  make  him  a  tribunal  president. 

Notwithstanding  the  compliments  heaped  upon 
him  by  the  local  press,  Girardet,  being  conscien- 
tious, continues  to  meditate  over  the  case.  By 
the  merest  chance,  a  friend's  researches  in  sorcery 
give  him  a  suggestion  which  leads  to  a  new  theory 
of  the  crime.  During  the  investigation,  several 
women  declared  that   they  had  been  the  object 


The  French  Magistracy  359 

of  attack  by  a  madman,  but  their  stories  were 
dismissed  as  absurd.  When  now,  however,  Girar- 
det  reads  in  his  friend's  treatise  about  the  magic 
properties  of  a  child's  heart  if  torn  from  its  mother's 
womb,  it  suggests  to  him  an  alleged  sorcerer  in  the 
neighbourhood  named  Gruz. 

But  unfortunately,  having  once  submitted  his 
report,  Girardet  cannot  easily  undo  his  ''master- 
piece," owing  to  a  lack  of  provision  for  such  action 
in  the  French  Code.  Will  he  be  obliged  to  sit 
by  powerless,  in  silence,  and  witness  the  comple- 
tion of  the  tragedy  of  which  he  is  the  author?  No, 
he  determines  to  speak  out,  however  much  he 
regrets  to  spoil  his  fine-spun  theory. 

Girardet 's  fears  are  soon  confirmed.  When  he 
attempts  to  explain  his  new  theory,  the  prosecuting 
attorney  exclaims  with  indignation:  ''Have  you 
thought  about  the  discredit  which  you  are  going  to 
bring  upon  Justice?  A  scrupulous  person  should 
not  enter  the  magistracy.  Keep  your  scruples  to 
yourself!"  After  a  fruitless  attempt  to  get  the 
Presiding  Judge  to  take  the  matter  up  (this 
judge  is  one  of  those  officials  who,  as  Emile  Faguet 
says,  "dread  responsibility"),  Girardet  appeals 
to  a  retired  magistrate,  a  very  just  and  humane 
man — for  the  reason,  doubtless,  that,  like  Brieux's 
La  Bouzule,  he  now  dares  to  be  just — who  advises 
him  to  appear  as  a  witness  for  the  defence.  Thanks 
to  Girardet' s  efforts,  Lamadoux  is  acquitted  and 
Gruz  convicted  in  his  stead.  But  just  as  in  La 
Robe  Rouge,  the  Lamadoux  suffer  socially  as  if 


360       Brieux  and  French  Society 

guilty.  **  Disgraced,  despised,  and  persecuted, 
they  had  to  sell  their  small  farm  and  take  the  road 
to  exile." 

While  Le  Lac  Noir  and  La  Robe  Rouge  have 
several  vital  points  in  common:  the  examining 
magistrate's  obstinate  adherence  to  his  theories; 
the  indifference — or  even  hostility — of  the  judiciary 
to  the  prisoner,  if  a  just  verdict  may  compromise 
their  dignity;  the  difference  between  the  old 
school  of  magistrates  and  the  new;  the  possibility 
of  being  just  and  humane  as  soon  as  one  has 
retired  from  the  profession;  respect  for  form  or 
routine,  clothed  in  the  garb  of  precedent,  at  all 
costs;  the  injustice  of  referring  to  the  defendant's 
easier  judiciaire;  and  finally  the  harm  that  may 
result  to  a  person  falsely  accused  from  the  stupid 
injustice  of  his  neighbours, — while  in  these  points 
the  two  authors  agree,  Bordeaux  avoids  the 
vehemence  of  Brieux' s  scathing  satire  and  denun- 
ciation. His  novel  is  romantic,  even  fantastic,  at 
times,  owing  to  the  part  played  by  necromancy, 
yet  everything  in  it  ''might  have  happened."  It 
was  a  master-stroke  to  show  that  the  very  clew 
which  all  sane  magistrates  would  ordinarily  dis- 
miss as  absurd  proved  the  right  one.  Nothing 
else  could  better  emphasize  the  necessity  of  a 
magistrate's  proceeding  cautiously,  patiently,  and 
with  an  open  mind. 

Our  examination  of  the  salient  features  of  La 
Robe  Rouge,  with  collateral  evidence  for  or  against 
each   of   the   author's  implied   assertions,    shows 


The  French  Magistracy  361 

that  critics  and  other  men  of  letters  sustain 
Brieux  in  all  his  criticisms.  Various  dramatists 
and  novelists  have  each  treated  one  or  more  phases 
of  his  theme  with  varying  verisimilitude,  but  he 
is  the  first  to  give  us  a  comprehensive,  life-like 
drama  on  the  subject.  Nobody  else  has  pre- 
sented so  well  and  so  fairly  the  whole  extent  of 
the  abuses  charged  against  the  French  magis- 
tracy. '  For  it  is  one  thing  to  satirize,  and  quite 
a  different  thing  to  keep  one's  satire  within  the 
bounds  of  convincing  fairness.  So  far  as  Brieux 
has  to  do  with  the  magistracy  in  other  plays  of 
his,  as  in  Le  BerceaUy  Alaternite,  and  Suzette,  his 
attitude  towards  them  is  the  same  as  in  La  Robe 
Rouge — just  but  severe. 

Though  after  all  Brieux  does  not  discover  a 
panacea  for  the  ills  of  the  magistracy — it  was 
hardly  to  be  expected, — La  Robe  Rouge  should 
contribute  much  towards  clearing  up  the  moot 
question  whether  political  matters  are  henceforth 
to  be  decided  at  the  Palace  of  Justice  or  justice 
rendered  at  the  Palais-Bourbon.  Emile  Faguet 
thinks  that  the  best  means  of  reorganizing  the 
magistracy  and  restoring  the  prestige  of  its  re- 
presentatives would  be  to  let  the  magistrate  buy 


^  F.  Gaiffe,  after  speaking  of  the  mediocre  dramatic  docu- 
ments on  the  magistracy  under  the  Old  Regime,  says  that  those 
who  affect  contempt  for  the  contemporary  drama  would  think 
much  more  highly  of  La  Robe  Rouge  if  they  had  read  Mercier's 
Le  Jiige  and  Chenier's  Jean  Calas.  Le  Drarne  en  Fr.  au  X  VIII  ® 
Sikle,  p.  378, 


362        Brieux  and  French  Society 

his  office,  as  was  customary  under  the  Old  Regime.  ^ 
This  system  he  would  modify  in  such  a  way  that 
the  State  would  pay  the  magistrates  but  would 
neither  appoint  nor  promote  them.  The  power  of 
appointment  he  would  give  to  the  Supreme  Court 
(Cour  de  Cassation),  whose  members  should 
themselves  be  elected,  as  vacancies  occurred,  by 
the  general  body  of  magistrates.  ^  Such  a  system 
might  make  the  magistrate  politically  independent, 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  would  give  him 
sufficient  moral  prestige  in  a  modern  democracy. 
Moreover,  in  an  age  when  the  '^  codfish  nobility" 
presume  to  have  whatever  they  want,  if  money 
will  buy  it,  judicial  offices  might  frequently  pass 
into  the  hands  of  unworthy  occupants. 

Whether  the  present  judicial  system  should  be 
maintained  or  another  substituted  for  it,  some 
reorganization  seems  imperative.  As  a  magistrate 
writes  for  the  Matin  ^: 

If  something  is  not  done,  if  perjury  continues  to  be 
authorized,  if  medical  jurisprudence  remains  in  its 
infancy,  if  it  is  considered  that  examining  magistrates 

*  VHorreur  des  Responsabilites,  p.  97.  Faguet  follows  Mon- 
tesquieu and  opposes  Voltaire.  "Voltaire,"  he  declares,  "com- 
prend  si  peu  la  question  qu'il  appelle  vendre  la  justice  ce  qui 
pr^cisement  emp^che  que  les  arrets  soient  a  vendre."  {Ibid., 
p.  15.)  He  concludes  that  the  State  must  choose  one  of  two 
things:  Either  venality  of  the  magistrate's  office  or  venality  of 
the  magistrate. 

^  Provost -Paradol  proposed  a  somewhat  similar  judicial  sys- 
tem.    La  France  Nouvelle,  p.  163. 

^  La  Crise  de  la  Justice  Criminelle,  Mar.  16,  1914. 


ihe  French  Magistracy  363 

have  no  need  of  serious  training  or  adequate  pay- 
ment, no  one  need  be  astonished  to  see  French  justice 
fail  increasingly  to  dissipate  criminal  mysteries,  to  see 
it  more  and  more  arrest  the  innocent  and  allow  the 
guilty  to  escape.  ^ 

^  Notwithstanding  the  grave  accusations  brought  against  her 
magistracy,  France  may  well  feel  proud  of  the  great  names  that 
have  shed  lustre  upon  the  profession.  No  other  country  has 
produced  men  superior  to  De  Thou,  Etienne  Pasquier,  Harlay, 
L'Hospital,  Mathieu  Mole,  Lamoignon,  Joly  de  Fleury,  Aguesseau, 
Seguier,  Bon  jean. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WET  NURSING.      VENEEEAL  DISEASES 

Les  Remplagantes  (Brieux) — Donatienne  (Bazin) 
— Le  Lait  d'une  Autre  (Hepp) — Nous,  les  Meres 
(Margueritte) — Les  Avaries  (Brieux) — La  Graine 
(Couvreur). 

BALZAC  was  right  when  he  said  that  the  an- 
nalist of  an  epoch  uncovers  many  sore-spots.  ^ 
This  is  particularly  true  of  an  author  who  would  be 
the  social  annalist  of  his  time.  Often  in  such  a  case 
his  problem  will  consist  not  so  much  in  uncovering 
vice  as  in  bringing  it  effectively  before  the  public 
and  making  people  understand  its  real  nature. 
For,  if  rationally  presented,  a  social  malady  com- 
monly considered  horrible  and  not  to  be  spoken  of, 
may  prove  no  more  disgraceful  nor  more  destruc- 
tive to  life  than  a  custom  sanctioned  by  society. 
Such  at  all  events  was  Brieux's  belief  in  choosing 
the  subjects  of  the  two  plays  that  followed 
quickly  after  La  Robe  Rouge — wet  nursing  and 
syphilis.  Both  seem  sufficiently  unpromising 
subjects  for  literary  treatment — a  presumption  not 
altogether  disproved  by  the  results.     The  plays 

*  Le  Cabinet  des  Antiques,  p.  i. 

364 


Wet  Nursing:.     Venereal  Diseases    365 


'i5 


in  which  he  handles  them — Les  Remplagantes 
(The  Substitutes)  and  Les  Avaries  {Damaged 
Goods) — are  not  among  Brieux's  greatest  literary 
successes.  But  more  than  any  others  they  have 
shown  his  boldness  in  choice  of  theme  and  so,  in 
a  way,  his  zeal  as  a  reformer.  It  is  further  testi- 
mony to  Brieux's  daring  originality,  that  whereas 
society  has  accepted  wet  nursing  complacently, 
while  looking  on  syphilis  with  unvSpeakable  horror, 
he  tries  to  depict  them  as  evils  Vvith  equally  harm- 
ful results.  The  high  rate  of  infant  mortality  in 
regions  which  furnish  substitute  mothers  seems 
to  prove  that  such  nursing  entails  almost  as  great 
loss  of  Hfe  as  syphilis — probably  greater  than 
syphilis  need  cause,  if  properly  treated. 

Nursing  for  hire  is  as  old  as  civilization,  or 
perhaps  we  should  say,  as  old  as  corrupt  civiliza- 
tion. In  antiquity,  mothers  were  compelled  by 
law  to  nurse  their  babies.  Both  the  Spartans  and 
the  Athenians  enforced  this  regulation  rigorously, 
at  least  until  their  manners  became  corrupt.  A 
number  of  women,  according  to  Demosthenes, 
were  not  only  publicly  reprimanded,  but  even 
prosecuted,  for  having  shirked  this  duty  without 
valid  reasons.  Under  the  virtuous  Roman  Re- 
public, we  find  maternal  nursing  similarly  in 
favour;  better  than  prescribed,  the  duty  was  held 
in  honour.  Not  until  the  Empire,  when  an.  un- 
precedented wave  of  degeneracy  swept  everything 
with  it,  did  mothers  confide,  or  rather  abandon, 
their  children  to  hired  nurses. 


366        Brieux  and  French  Society 

Such  a  custom,  if  adopted  in  Gaul,  cannot  have 
existed  long  with  the  stern  virtues  of  early  Chris- 
tianity. But  it  came  into  vogue  after  the  Renais- 
sance. Realizing  the  danger,  Montaigne  wrote: 
"I  am  convinced  that  our  worst  vices  begin  to  form 
in  our  infancy,  and  that  our  destiny  is  largely  in  the 
hands  of  our  wet  nurses."^  During  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIV,  a  sense  of  decorum  and  the  dread 
of  scandal  prevented  the  custom  from  spreading. 
But  in  the  licentious  reaction  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  it  threatened  for  a  time  to  assume  alarm- 
ing proportions.  Fear  of  it  is  reflected  in  the 
writings  of  such  men  as  Rousseau,  Restif  de  la 
Bretonne,  ^  and  Sedaine.  ^ 

^  "The  ancients  admitted  the  possibility  of  the  transmission 
of  moral  influences  from  wet  nurse  to  infant.  Tiberius's  inebriety 
was  regarded  as  a  direct  heritage  from  his  nurse,  who  had  an 
inordinate  thirst  for  wine.  .  .  .  Certain  physicians  of  our  time  do 
not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  the  nurse's  milk  has  an  incontestable 
influence  upon  the  moral  faculties  of  her  suckling."  E.  Grimard, 
L'Enfant,  son  Passe,  son  Avenir,  p.  45. 

^  La  Mere  Qui  Nourrit.  Restif  de  la  Bretonne,  though  professing 
a  veritable  cult  for  Rousseau,  sees  both  evil  and  good  in  the 
custom.  He  relates  the  story  of  two  Parisian  women,  cousins, 
who  sincerely  desire  to  nurse  their  babies  themselves.  But  not 
being  physically  very  strong,  each  is  persuaded  by  her  husband 
to  put  the  baby — especially  if  a  boy,  and  hence  the  future  re- 
presentative of  the  family — in  the  charge  of  a  peasant  nurse,  in. 
order  to  make  it  vigorous  and  robust.  Strange  to  say,  no  harm 
results  from  this  arrangement,  for  the  two  eldest  sons,  who  have 
each  had  a  nurse,  are  as  affectionately  attached  to  their  mother 
as  the  other  children.  Nevertheless,  one  of  the  husbands,  speak- 
ing in  the  name  of  the  author,  says  that  a  mother  should  heed  the 
voice  of  nature  and  entrust  her  baby  to  a  hired  nurse  onljf  wli6a 
her  own  services  would  be  injurious. 

3  Maillard  ou  Paris  Sauve. 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    367 

The  agitation  started  by  Rousseau,  besides 
attracting  wide  attention,  had  a  wholesome  influ- 
ence during  the  last  decades  of  the  Old  Regime, 
so  that  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  there  was 
temporary  reform.  In  fact  the  "substitute'* 
custom  had  not  yet  found  much  favour  among  the 
bourgeoisie.  But  with  their  rise  the  abuse  began 
again  to  spread.  French  literature  of  the  first 
three-quarters  of  the  nineteenth  century,  however, 
paid  almost  no  attention  to  it.  The  first  recent 
author  to  treat  the  subject  was  Frangois  Coppee, 
who  in  1886  contributed  La  Noiirrice  {The  Nurse), 
the  touching  story  of  a  peasant  nurse  whose  child 
dies  at  home  while  she  is  engaged  in  Paris.  Five 
years  later  appeared  Le  Lait  dhine  Autre  {Another 
Woman'' s  Milk),  a  "powerful  and  wholesome 
novel," '  in  which  Alexandre  Hepp  emphasizes 
the  baneful  influence  that  the  nurse  may  have 
upon  the  child.  Rene  Bazin,  the  next  author  to 
take  up  the  theme,  depicts  in  Donatienne  (1902) 
the  utter  ruin  of  a  peasant  household. 

These  novels  exercised  a  salutary  influence 
within  their  sphere;  but  according  to  Brieux's 
theory,  the  readers  to  whom  a  novel  appeals  are 
generally  too  restricted  in  number  for  the  novel 
to  stir  up  wide  discussion  and  so  prepare  the  way 
for  effective  social  reform.  This  can  be  accom- 
plished better  through  the  medium  of  the  stage, 
since  so  many  more  people  go  to  the  theatre  than 

^  So  Joseph  Reinach  characterizes  the  book.  AthencBunt,  July 
2,  1892. 


368       Brieux  and  French  Society 

read  books;  and  so  Brieux,  undeterred  by  the 
dramatic  difficulties  of  his  subject,  resolved  to 
bring  the  question  of  wet  nursing  squarely  before 
the  public.  The  result  was  Les  Remplagantes, 
first  represented  by  Antoine,  in  1901.  The  scene 
of  Acts  I  and  III  is  in  a  French  village;  Act  II 
takes  place  in  Paris. 

We  learn  from  conversation  at  the  beginning  of 
the  play  that  in  the  part  of  provincial  France  in 
which  the  action  takes  place,  both  married  and 
unmarried  mothers  (the  latter  are  said  to  be 
preferred),  if  able  to  obtain  employment  as  nurses 
in  Paris,  leave  their  babies  at  home  to  be  brought 
up  with  the  bottle.  A  woman  unable  to  qualify 
as  a  "substitute"  for  a  bourgeoise  of  the  metro- 
polis, tries  to  secure  a  foundling  or  an  orphan  baby 
to  bring  up  at  home.  These  two  sources  of 
income  constitute  the  only  local  industry.  While 
a  man's  wife  is  engaged  in  Paris,  he  lives  in  idle- 
ness, spending  at  the  cabaret  the  wages  she  earns. 
If  he  wants  more  money,  he  invents  a  story  of 
domestic  misfortune,  and  his  wife's  employers, 
who  live  in  constant  dread  of  her  leaving  them, 
hasten  to  send  him  some  bank-bills.  No  wonder 
these  peasant  women  are  valued  at  home  only  for 
their  ability  to  serve  as  "substitutes."  We  learn, 
too,  that  the  business  of  a  nurse-agent,  in  whose 
book  all  "applicants"  are  registered,  is  very  re- 
munerative. Upon  his  return  from  Paris  with  a 
list  of  "vacancies,"  he  is  besieged  by  both  duly 
qualified  and  would-be  nurses. 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    369 

Frangois  Planchot,  one  of  these  agents,  reports 
a '  'beautiful"  place  for  his  nephew's  wife,  Lazarette. 
Mme/  Denisart,  whose  nurse  has  just  left,  will 
soon  arrive  in  her  motor  car  with  a  physician,  to 
make  the  engagement.  Lazarette,  who  comes 
from  a  part  of  France  in  which  hired  nursing  is 
unknown,  does  not  want  to  rob  her  baby  and 
expose  her  husband  to  demoralization  for  a  little 
money.  Though  her  husband  is  of  the  same 
opinion,  he  lacks  the  courage  to  oppose  the  will  of 
his  father  and  uncle.  The  father,  * '  pere  Planchot, ' ' 
a  whining  grumbler  without  means  of  support, 
reminds  Lazarette  that  after  the  birth  of  her  first 
child  she  did  not  hire  herself  out,  and  that  she 
was  without  a  dowr}^,  whereas  her  husband  had 
three  hundred  dollars.  The  result  is  that  when 
Mme/  Denisart  arrives,  Lazarette  is  obliged  to 
accept  her  offer,  leaving  her  baby  in  the  care  of 
her  husband's  parents,  who  are  to  receive  a  part 
of  her  wages.  Dr.  Richon,  the  plain  country 
physician  whom  vv^e  have  met  in  VEvasion,  points 
out  as  the  author's  spokesman  the  risk  that  a 
nurse  like  Lazarette  runs  of  contracting  venereal 
disease  and  contaminating  her  family.  He  de- 
clares, moreover,  that  as  a  result  of  their  mer- 
cenary custom  such  peasant  women  have  lost  the 
instinct  of  motherhood. 

Act  II  opens  with  a  picture,  verging  on  carica- 
ture, of  Mme/  Denisart  and  her  worldly  Parisian 
acquaintances,  whose  entire  time  does  not  suffice 
for  their  calls,  days  at  home,  fashionable  lectures, 
24 


2i7^        Brieux  and  French  Society 

etc.  The  Denisarts  dictate  Lazarette'vS  diet,  her 
habits,  and  her  dress:  everything  must  be  sub- 
ordinated to  the  welfare  of  "monsieur  Guy" 
(the  baby).  On  the  other  hand,  knowing  that 
Lazarette  will  leave  if  her  own  child  falls  ill,  they 
let  Planchot  exploit  their  fear  with  alarming 
stories  of  domestic  misfortune. 

During  a  call  by  Dr.  Richon,  Mme,  Denisart 
and  her  frivolous  guests  try  to  make  game  of  him, 
but  he  turns  the  tables,  giving  them  a  salutary 
lecture  on  the  duties  of  motherhood  and  the 
ravages  caused  in  his  provincial  town  by  the  nurse 
evil. 

For  forty  years  [he  says]  I  have  seen  innocent 
children  die  who  would  today  be  living ,  if  their 
mothers  had  not  left  them,'  to  take  charge  of  your 
babies.  The  nursing  of  her  child  ought  to  be  regarded 
by  a  woman  as  her  military  service.  Before  1870, 
a  rich  man  could  escape  military  service,  in  France, 
by  hiring  a  substitute.  There  are  no  longer  substitute 
soldiers;  there  should  no  longer  be  substitute  mothers 
(remplagantes) . 

Dr.  Richon' s  arraignment  amazes  the  vain 
cailleUes,  w^ho  have  never  given  a  moment's  re- 
flection to  the  fate  of  their  innocent  little  victims 
in  the  country. 

When  in  the  last  act  Lazarette  discovers  that  her 
employers  are  concealing  the  news  of  her  child's 
illness,  she  takes  the  train  for  home.  She  finds  her 
house  in  confusion.     Planchot,  like  the  other  men 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    371 

whose  wives  "serve"  in  Paris,  has  been  spending 
his  time  at  the  cabaret  or  with  another  woman. 
After  Lazarette  has  settled  the  score  with  this 
v/oman,  her  husband  promises  to  reform.  ''Pere 
Planchot"  tries  to  make  her  return  to  Paris,  but 
the  son  tells  him  that  henceforth  he  intends  to 
be  master  in  his  own  house.  In  the  final  scene, 
Dr.  Richon  congratulates  Lazarette  on  her  course 
of  action  and  points  out  to  ''pere  Planchot"  how 
much  the  people  of  their  village  would  gain  by 
giving  up  nursing  for  useful  work  at  home. 

The  great  popularit}^  which  Les  RemplaQantes 
has  enjoyed  is  due  not  only  to  a  somewhat  spicy 
treatment  of  the  subject,  but  also  to  the  literary 
merit  of  the  play.  For  apart  from  comic  exaggera- 
tion, suggestive  of  some  of  the  earlier  plays, 
Acts  I  and  III  constitute  a  masterful  representa- 
tion of  provincial  manners.  ^  Lazarette,  the  most 
important  character,  is  admirable.  Natural,  too, 
are  Planchot,  his  uncle,  and  "pere  Planchot." 
But  notwithstanding  these  strong  features,  the 
play  is  marred  by  a  duality  of  tone,  which  partially 
defeats  the  dramatist's  didactic  purpose,  since  the 
broadly  comic  element  harmonizes  poorly  with 
Dr.  Richon's  sermons. 

We  have  noticed  this  same  fault  particularly 


^  E.  Stoullig  says  of  the  play:  "Le  premier  acte  est  simple- 
ment  parfait:  clair,  concis,  d'une  exposition  breve  et  simple, 
dramatique,  quand  meme,  et  empoignant  de  verite  cruelle  et 
sure.  Nos  paysans  sont,  la,  depeints  tels  qu'ils  sont  en  effet." 
Annates,  1910,  p.  366. 


372        Bricux  and  French  Society 

in  VEngrenage,^  where  at  times  it  destroys  the 
dramatic  illusion.  We  have  seen  it  also  in 
Menages  d' Artistes,  '^  La  Coiivee,  ^  and  to  some  extent 
in  Les  Trots  Filles  de  M.  Dupont."^  This  conflict 
of  elements  is  probably  not  due  to  what  critics 
have  called  Brieux's  duality  of  mind — that  is,  a 
mingling  of  cheerful  humour  and  gloomy  if  not 
pessimistic  seriousness.  The  probable  cause  is 
rather  that  Brieux  felt  the  necessity  of  amusing 
the  spectator  v/hile  inducing  him  to  accept  un- 
pleasant social  truths.  Brieux,  when  he  chooses, 
can  be  consistently  comic  ^  or  consistently  serious.  ^ 
In  Les  Remplagantes,  it  did  not  suit  his  purpose  to 
be  entirely  either  one  or  the  other.  In  order  to 
clinch  Dr.  Richon's  argument,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  make  Lazarette's  baby,  and  some  of  the  others 
whose  mothers  serve  as  "substitutes"  in  Paris, 
die  as  victims  of  the  evil  custom.  But  the  sugar 
■coating  of  comedy  which  the  dramatist  deemed 
necessary  to  make  his  didacticism  palatable,  did 
not  permit  such  a  tragedy.  Yet  though  this 
particular  play  ends  happily,  it  points  no  less 
definitely  than  La  Robe  Rouge  to  general  tragic 
results,  unless  the  evil  which  it  censures  is  checked. 
Similar  fault  cannot  be  found  regarding  the 
unity  of  tone  of  Bazin's  Do7iatiemie,  the  novel  on 
the    same    subject    as   Les   Remplagantes,    which 

^  Discussed  in  Chapter  VI.  ^  Analysed  in  Chapter  III. 

3  CJ.  Chapter  V.  4  Cf.  Chapter  IX. 

5  See  Les  Hannetons. 

^  La  Robe  Rouge,  analysed  in  the  preceding  chapter. 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    373 

appeared  in  the  following  year,  1902.  It  is  uni- 
formly gloomy,  and  yet  its  didacticism  is  less 
prominent  than  Brieux's. 

The  heroine,  Donatienne,  leaving  her  husband 
and  three  young  children  on  their  small  mortgaged 
farm  in  Brittany,  accepts  a  call  as  a  "substitute" 
for  a  wealthy  bourgeoise.  In  Paris  she  yields 
to  the  temptations  of  a  life  of  splendour,  takes  a 
lover,  and  pays  no  attention  to  her  husband's 
appeals  for  money.  Subsequently  she  lives  in  free 
love  with  a  tavern-keeper.  When  after  a  desper- 
ate struggle  with  poverty  her  husband  has  lost 
everything,  he  puts  his  children  into  a  hand-cart 
and  tramps  over  the  country.  While  working  in 
a  stone-quarry,  he  receives  fatal  injuries.  The 
unfaithful  wife,  Vvho  at  length  feels  remorse  for 
abandoning  her  children,  returns  now  at  the  end 
of  eight  years. 

In  truth  to  life,  Bazin's  heroine  falls  far  short  of 
Lazarette.  It  is  doubtful  whether  one  peasant 
woman  in  a  million  would  abandon  her  children  as 
Donatienne  does.  In  other  respects  the  reality 
of  the  novel  is  admirable;  but  it  is  unfortunate 
that  it  should  fail  in  regard  to  the  heroine,  for 
on  her  character  the  moral  depends. 

Nursing  not  only  may  ruin  the  households  of 
the  peasant  women  who  give  themselves  up  to  it ; 
it  may  also  bring  ruin  to  the  children  whom  they 
nurse.  This  is  the  aspect  of  the  question  that 
Alexandre  Hepp  and  Paul  Margueritte  have 
studied  in  their  novels,  Le  Lait  dhme  Autre  and 


374        Brieux  and  French  Society 

NouSy  les  MereSf  which  appeared  respectively  in 
1891  and  1913. 

In  M.  Hepp^s  novel,  Le  Lait  d'une  Autre,  Davin, 
a  military  type  of  man,  pleads  earnestly  with  his 
wife  to  nurse  her  baby,  but,  encouraged  by  her 
mother,  she  entrusts  this  sacred  duty  to  a  Jille- 
mere.  The  provincial  "substitute"  has  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  testimonials  regarding  her 
moral  character  and  a  statement  from  a  mayor 
certifying  to  the  age  and  health  of  her  child,  ^ 
whom  she  abandons  to  its  fate.  Ultimately  it 
dies  from  neglect.  Strange  to  say,  she  proves 
satisfactory  to  Mme.  Davin,  who  keeps  her  year 
after  year,  leaving  the  boy  entirely  in  her  charge, 
even  after  the  nurse  has  taken  a  lover.  To  be 
sure,  the  indignant  husband  eventually  drives 
her  from  his  home,  but  only  after  his  son  has 
acquired  a  vicious  habit,  which  leads  to  a  fatal 
illness.  Thus  Mme.  Davin,  by  shirking  her  duty 
of  a  mother,  causes  the  death  of  her  own  child 
and  indirectly  that  of  the  nurse's. 

Paul  Margueritte's  Nous,  les  Meres'"  deals  pri- 
marily, we  have  seen  in  considering  works  related 
to  La  Couvee,  with  parents'  duties  towards  their 
children  after  they  have  passed  the  nursing  age. 

*  The  Roussel  law  requires  a  physician's  certificate,  counter- 
signed by  the  local  mayor,  to  the  effect  that  the  nurse's  baby  is 
at  least  seven  months  old  and  in  good  health,  before  she  may 
engage  her  services.  In  certain  geographical  departments, 
however,  this  law  is  not  enforced.  O.  Gevin-Cassel,  Rev.  Bleue, 
July  26,  1902. 

^  CS.  Chapter  V,  p.  130. 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    375 

The  main  question  is  whether  Mme.  Gimones  is  to 
devote  herself  to  her  mother  or  to  her  daughter 
and  her  daughter's  little  girl.  But  a  vSubordinate 
problem  is  naturally  the  same  as  that  of  M. 
Hepp's  novel. 

Julia  Gimones,  under  the  pretext  that  she  is 
weak  and  worn  out,  engages  a  nurse  for  her  baby. 
Her  husband,  Raymond,  does  not  object,  though 
his  mother,  who  knows  Julia's  passion  for  worldly 
amusements,  declares  that  she  is  well  and  quite 
able  to  nurse.  But  to  her  mother-in-law's  re- 
monstrances Julia  replies  with  a  flat  refusal: 
^'Tai  assez  soiiffert;  neiif  mots  de  malaises,  la 
difformite,  auctme  distraction;  non,  merci,  fai 
besoifi  de  reiivre,  moi!'^  When  they  change  nurses, 
the  baby  becomes  thin  and  pale  and  falls  ill.  An 
attempt  to  rear  it  with  the  bottle  having  succeeded 
no  better,  Raymond's  mother  says  to  Julia  re- 
proachfully: ''Through  your  fault,  your  child  is 
puny  and  lilvcly  to  succumb  to  illness  at  any 
time." 

This  episode  of  Nous,  les  Meres  shows  Paul 
Margueritte  quite  in  accord  with  Alexandre  Hepp 
on  the  question  of  nursing.  It  is  regrettable  that 
he  does  not  treat  the  theme  more  comprehensively. 

The  evils  of  wet  nursing,  however,  as  seen  by 
French  men  of  letters,  are  already  evident.  De- 
moralization of  the  ''substitute,"  demoralization 
of  her  husband,  illness  or  death  of  their  child, 
physical  and  moral  ruin  of  the  bourgeois  child, 
idleness,  economic  ruin  of  the  peasantry,  contrac- 


2,76        Brieux  and  French  Society 

tion  of  venereal  disease  by  the  nurse, — such  is  a 
partial  list  of  the  sins  recorded  against  the  sub- 
stitute custom  in  recent  French  literature.  In 
point  of  variety  and  comprehensiveness  the 
indictment  leaves  little  to  be  desired,  though  as 
has  been  hinted  in  the  analyses  of  the  works, 
they  fail  because  of  certain  faults  of  art  to  make 
their  argument  as  strong  as  it  might  be.  The 
most  successful  is  Les  Remplagantes  which,  not- 
withstanding its  faults,  presents  the  subject  on  the 
whole  with  a  vigour  and  originality  worthy  of  the 
traditions  of  the  French  stage. 

When  Dr.  Richon  makes  one  of  his  arguments 
against  Lazarette's  going  to  Paris  as  a  wet  nurse 
her  risk  of  contracting  venereal  disease,  he  virtu- 
ally brings  Brieux  to  the  subject  of  his  next  play, 
the  much-talked-of  Les  Avaries,  which  was  ready 
for  the  stage  shortly  after  Les  Remplagantes,  but 
was  not  presented  till  some  time  afterwards.  Thus 
Les  Avaries  might  be  cited  among  the  works  which 
attack  the  custom  of  mothers'  hiring  themselves 
to  suckle  other  infants  than  their  own.  But  as  in 
Paul  Margueritte's  novel,  this  is  only  a  subordinate 
theme.  The  main  question  of  the  drama  is 
whether  all  people  have  a  moral  right  to  bring 
children  into  the  world.  Not  unless  they  are 
sound  in  body  and  mind,  is  Brieux's  conclusion. 
Conscious  of  this  truth,  and  convinced  that  the 
future  of  mankind  is  more  important  than  art,  he 
wrote  Les  Avaries  (1901),  which,  though  immedi- 
ately  rehearsed   at   Antoine's  theatre,    was  pro- 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    377 

hibited  by  the  French  censorship.  ^  The  following 
year  it  was  produced  in  Liege  and  Brussels,  but 
it  was  not  till  1905  that  Antoine  was  allowed  to 
offer  it  in  Paris.  M.  Roujon,  in  explaining  the 
interdiction,  wrote: 

The  generation  of  life,  accouchement,  and  the 
medication  of  syphilis  are  not  immoral  subjects;  but 
they  are  not  appropriate  for  the  stage.  Let  us 
confine  each  thing  to  its  proper  domain:  the  stage  in 
one  place,  the  clinic,  the  hospital,  the  Dupuytren 
Museum^  in  another.  Let  them  play  Brieux's  drama 
at  the  amphitheatre. 

It  is  in  reality  a  question  not  of  artistic  pro- 
priety so  much  as  of  dramatic  utility.  The  in- 
consistency of  objecting  to  a  play  like  Les 
Avaries  has  been  shown  by  Bernard  Shaw,  who 
observes: 

All  the  allurements  of  sex  may  be  exhibited  on  the 
stage,  heightened  by  every  artifice  that  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  voluptuary  can  devise,  but  not  one  of  its 
dangers  and  penalties.  We  may,  and  do,  parade 
prostitution  to  the  point  of  intoxicating  every  young 
person  in  the  theatre;  yet  no  young  person  may  hear 
a  word  as  to  the  diseases  that  follow  prostitution  and 

^  Of  a  reading  of  Les  Avaries  by  the  author  at  the  Antoine 
Theatre  in  November,  190 1,  Edmond  StoulHg  says:  "We  were 
soon  convinced  that  Brieux,  imbued  with  such  high  moral  ideas, 
v/as  anything  but  a  pornograph."     Annales  (1901),  p.  379. 

^  The  Dupuytren  Museum  in  Paris  contains  collections  illus- 
trative of  anatomy,  histology,  etc. 


37^        Brieux  and  French  Society 

avenge  the  prostitute  to  the  third  and  fourth  genera- 
tion of  them  that  buy  her.^ 

After  bitterly  arraigning  the  official  censorship 
for  its  warm  approval  of  pornographic  and  adultery 
plays,  Gaston  Deschamps  points  out  the  conster- 
nation and  opposition  of  the  same  officials  if 
perchance  a  dramatist  attempts  to  represent  in 
vivid  images  the  urgency  of  a  social  question.  "^  Al- 
most no  subject  is  inappropriate  for  literary  treat- 
ment, provided  the  author  possess  the  ability  to 
make  it  seem  appropriate.  Those  who  fear 
that  the  public  discussion  of  delicate  subjects  will 
exert  an  immoral  influence  are,  as  a  rule,  persons 
who  confound  ignorance  with  virtue.  ^  Mr.  Shaw, 
to  refer  to  him  again,  declares  that  with  regard  to 
the  evils  of  disease  and  contagion,  our  consciences 
are  sound  enough:  what  is  wrong  with  us  is  ignor- 
ance of  facts.  4 

We  learn  at  last  [he  says]  that  the  majority  of 
victims  are  not  the  people  of  whom  we  so  glibly  say, 
"It  serves  them  right,"  but  quite  innocent  children 
and  innocent  parents,  smitten  by  a  contagion  which, 
no  matter  in  what  vice  it  may  or  may  not  have  been 
originated,  contaminates  the  innocent  and  the  guilty 
alike.  ^ 

The  danger   is  the    greater    in  a  country  like 

*  Three  Plays  by  Brieux. 

^  Le  Malaise  de  la  Democratie  (1899),  p.  118. 

3  F.  C.  Chandler,  Aspects  oj  Mod.  Drama,  p.  369. 

4  Getting  Married.  s  Jhid. 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    379 

France,  where,  it  is  affirmed,  young  people  often 
are  brought  up  without  the  shghtest  hint  that  they 
are  some  day  to  be  fathers  and  mothers.^  The 
only  thing  that  never  enters  into  the  plans  of 
French  parents  is  the  question  whether,  physically 
and  morally,  the  two  young  people  whom  they  are 
going  to  have  united  are  such  as  to  promise 
healthy,  robust  offspring.  ^  Hence  the  assertion  of 
J.  Ernest-Charles  that  in  France  marriage  is  so 
arranged  that  it  offers  the  greatest  possible  obsta- 
cles to  the  improvement  of  the  race.  ^ 

Social  manners  based  on  such  ignorance,  short- 
sightedness, and  prejudice,  Brieux  thought  ur- 
gently demanded  the  campaign  of  instruction  and 
enlightenment  which  he  undertakes  in  Les  Avaries. 

Upon  being  told  by  a  specialist  in  his  consulting 
room  that  he  has  the  "unmentionable"  disease, 
Georges  Dupont  explains,  amidst  pitiful  lamenta- 
tions, the  precautions  he  has  always  taken  against 
this  very  danger,  with  one  exception — a  lark 
immediately  preceding  his  betrothal  and  the 
signing  of  the  marriage  contract.  With  the 
dowry  of  Henriette,  his  charming  fiancee,  he  was 
to  have  bought  a  notary's  practice:  instead,  he 
vv^ill  be  wheeled  about  in  a  chair.  No,  he  prefers 
to  kill  himself! 

The  doctor  explains  the  danger  of  neglecting 
the  disease,  but  declares  that,  thanks  to  medical 
science,  ninety-nine  cases  in  a  hundred  are  curable 

^  L.  Ulbach,  Rev.  Bleue,  Aug.  6,  1881. 

^  Ibid.  iRev.  Bleue,  Oct.  i,  1904. 


380       Brieux  and  French  Society 

if  treated  in  time.^  When  the  aiarie  hears  that 
he  can  be  cured  and  can  still  marry  Henriette, 
his  hopes  revive,  but  only  to  be  dashed  the  next 
moment  by  the  doctor's  demand  that  he  post- 
pone his  marriage  for  three  years.  ^  This,  Georges 
says,  is  quite  impossible,  because  the  bans  are 
published  and  he  has  borrowed  the  money  to  pay 
for  his  practice.  Moreover,  his  future  father-in- 
law,  a  man  of  violent  temper,  will  brook  no  trifling. 
The  doctor  appeals  to  the  young  man^s  humanity, 
explaining  the  crime  of  transmitting  his  disease 
to  others,  and  the  frightful  lot  of  a  child  born  of 
syphilitic  parents.  ^  The  patient  says  that  he 
will  "think  the  matter  over,"  but  the  physician 
understands  that  he  intends  to  consult  a  quack 
doctor  for  a  speedy  cure. 

At  the  opening  of  Act  II,  Georges  and  Henriette, 
who  have  been  married  and  have  a  baby,  have 
entrusted  it  to  a  peasant  nurse  in  the  country, 

*  Auguste  Forel  is  much  less  optimistic.  "The  cure  of  syphilis," 
he  says,  "is  often  uncertain."  And  again:  "The  complete  cure 
of  syphilis  is  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  prove."  The 
Sexual  Question,  pp.  213,  299. 

^  Maxime  Duprat,  a  contaminated  character  in  Andr6 
Couvreur's  novel,  Les  Mancefiilles,  does  not  marry  for  a  couple 
of  years  after  contracting  the  disease,  and  yet  the  results  are 
deplorable. 

3  "Syphilis,"  the  doctor  goes  on  to  say,  "is  a  great  murderer 
of  children.  Herod  reigns  in  France  and  over  the  whole  earth. 
Every  year  he  begins  again  his  massacre  of  the  innocent." 

In  Paul  and  Victor  Margueritte's  Femmes  Nouvelles,  we  read: 
"If  only  you  knew  how  sad  the  spectacle  of  infantile  suffering  is 
— the  infirmities  of  those  poor  little  children,  poisoned  by  organic 
ailments,  their  sole  heritage  from  their  parents." 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    381 

under  the  supervision  of  Georges* s  mother.  In 
discussing  the  six  months'  postponement  of  their 
marriage,  Georges  tells  Henriette  that  a  famous 
specialist,  who  feared  that  he  had  tuberculosis, 
wanted  him  to  wait  three  years,  but  that  a  second- 
rate  doctor  cured  him  in  three  months. 

While  Henriette  is  out,  Georges's  mother  arrives 
with  the  baby  and  the  specialist,  whose  predictions, 
needless  to  sa}^,  have  come  true.  The  doctor  in- 
sists that  the  baby  be  immediately  put  to  the 
bottle,  in  order  not  to  contaminate  the  nurse,  but 
Mme.  Dupont,  who  places  her  grandchild's  wel- 
fare above  every  other  consideration,  tries  to 
bribe  the  nurse,  without  telling  her  the  truth. 
Here  we  have  bourgeois  unscrupulousness  pitted 
against  peasant  obstinacy  in  a  scene  which  is 
comic  as  well  as  tragic.  The  guilt}^  husband  en- 
treats the  doctor  not  to  reveal  the  secret  to  his 
wife,  but  a  servant  having  overheard  the  discus- 
sion and  told  the  nurse,  she  cries  out,  w^hen  insulted 
by  the  avarie:  *'*  Your  child  is  rotten,  because  you 
have  a  loathsome  disease  that  you  contracted 
from  the  women  of  the  street."  Henriette,  who 
has  just  stepped  in,  faints  on  hearing  these  brutal 
facts. 

When  in  the  last  act  Henriette's  father,  who  is 
a  member  of  Parliament,  calls  at  the  specialist's 
office  to  obtain  a  certificate  attesting  his  son-in- 
law's  disease,  that  she  may  get  a  divorce,  the 
doctor  refuses  on  the  ground  of  professional 
secrecy.     Furthermore,  he  points  out  the  folly  of 


382        Brieux  and  French  Society 

burdening  the  young  wife's  name  with  a  scandal, 
just  as  he  meets  the  deputy's  threat  to  have  the 
child  examined  by  another  doctor,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  necessary  proof,  by  remarking  that  the 
innocent  little  victim  already  has  a  dark  enough 
future.  It  becomes  clear  that  Henriette's  father 
has  his  share  of  responsibility  in  the  matter,  for, 
though  he  made  a  thorough  investigation  of  his 
future  son-in-law's  financial  status,  he  failed  to 
inquire  about  the  most  important  thing  of  all: 
his  physical  condition.  The  doctor  therefore 
draws  the  inference  that,  while  nowadays  before 
concluding  a  marriage  the  tv/o  families  bring 
together  their  notaries,  it  would  be  even  wiser  to 
consult  their  physicians  also.  The  implacable 
father-in-law  confesses  that  in  his  younger  days 
he  exposed  himself  to  this  same  disease,  but  had 
the  good  fortune  not  to  contract  it. 

And  so  they  decide  that  Henriette  shall  live 
with  her  husband.  The  doctor  assures  the  deputy 
that  a  couple  of  years  hence  he  will  be  a  happy 
grandfather.  He  attacks  Parliament  and  the 
Government  for  not  combating  syphilis,  alco- 
holism, and  tuberculosis — the  terrible  trinity  that 
destroys  thousands  of  lives  every  day.  The  legis- 
lator sees  the  necessity  of  action,  as  regards  the 
first  of  these  scourges,  for  the  doctor's  patients, 
w^ho  are  now  brought  in,  relate  sickening  experi- 
ences. One  girl,  after  contracting  syphilis,  has 
sowed  it  broadcast,  in  order  to  avenge  herself. 
The  deputy  is  soon  convinced  that  old  and  young 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    383 

must  be  taught  not  only  the  nature  of  venereal 
diseases,  but  also  the  grave  danger  of  neglecting 
them. ' 

In  Les  Avaries,  more  than  in  any  other  of 
Brieux*s  better  known  plays,  art  suffers  from 
didacticism.  The  third  act,  which  has  been  called 
"a  lecture  between  two  personages,"  is  not  essen- 
tial to  the  plot;  strong  dramatic  situations  in  the 
play  are  almost  wholly  wanting.  But,  as  we  have 
seen,  Brieux  did  not  write  this  drama  for  its 
literary  value;  he  wrote  it  for  its  lesson.  The 
dramatic  utility  of  the  piece,  in  carrying  the 
lesson,  is  attested  by  the  discussions  following 
the  recent  presentation  of  it  on  the  American 
stage  under  the  title  Damaged  Goods.  One  writer 
says:  "This  sociological  drama  .  .  .  has  awak- 
ened a  wider  interest  and  caused  more  serious 
discussion  than  an}^  other  play  produced  in  recent 
years."  ^  In  view  of  the  interest  in  it,  the  play 
was  presented  before  the  President  and  Congress. 

These  results  of  Les  Avaries  belie  the  sneering 
opinion  of  Dr.  Brouardel,  a  Paris  medical  celebrity, 
who,  without  having  heard  the  reading  of  it,  de- 

^  In  Bubu  de  Montparnasse,  a  novel  by  C.  L.  Philippe,  the 
hero  lives  in  free  love  with  a  girl,  whom  he  compels  to  beat  the 
streets  as  a  prostitute.  Having  contracted  syphilis  and  con- 
taminated others,  the  girl  takes  treatment  for  awhile,  but  subse- 
quently falls  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  gutter.  This  novel, 
though  lacking  the  scientific  basis  of  Les  Avaries,  shows  essentially 
the  same  ravages  that  are  sure  to  follow  the  "unspeakable" 
disease,  if  it  is  communicated  thoughtlessly  instead  of  being 
combated  by  medical  aid. 

^  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger,  Feb.  i,  1914.  : 


384        Brieux  and  French  Society 

clared  that  the  stage  could  not  impart  scientific 
instruction.  ^  The  doctors,  who  bore  the  author  of 
V Evasion  a  deep  grudge,  would  naturally  regard 
him  as  incompetent  to  instruct  in  any  subject 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  call  particularly 
their  own.  Dr.  Prieur,  however,  admits  that 
nothing  could  be  more  exact  than  the  evolution 
of  the  disease  as  described  by  Brieux,  and  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  surpass  his  skill  in  presenting 
the  child's  case.  In  a  word,  he  asserts  that  Les 
Avaries  is  perfect  from  the  standpoint  of  science, 
but  a  literary  failure,  whereas  V Evasion,  a  great 
literary  success,  has  no  scientific  value.  "^  In  both 
statements  there  is  exaggeration.  While  it  is 
true  that  the  last  act  of  Les  Avaries  is  more  medical 
treatise  than  drama,  the  whole  play  has  been 
condemned  too  severely  for  the  faults  of  this  act. 
The  fundamental  trouble  with  the  act  is  that  it  is 
superfluous.  The  essential  lesson  is  brought  out 
by  the  end  of  the  second  act,  and  up  to  that  point 
the  play  possesses  dramatic  merit. 

Although  it  would  be  too  much  to  say  that 
Brieux  has  created  a  school,  certain  writers  on 
medical-sociological  questions  undoubtedly,  if  un- 
consciously, owe  their  inspiration  in  part  to  him,  ^ 

^  R.  de  Bury,  Mercure  de  France^  Dec,  1901. 

""  Ibid. 

5  One  of  such  writers  is  Cosmo  Hamilton,  who,  like  the  author 
of  Damaged  Goods,  has  manifested  deep  concern  for  the  future  of 
the  race.  In  A  Plea  for  the  Younger  Generation,  he  urges  parents 
and  the  clergy  to  guide  young  people  through  the  pitfalls  of  sex. 
(C/.  p.  46.)     liis  drama,   The  Blindness  of  Virtue,  emphasizes 


Wet  Nursing.     Venereal  Diseases    385 

while  others  greet  him  openly  and  enthusiastically 
as  a  leader.  Among  these  authors  may  be  men- 
tioned Andre  Couvreur,  the  Margueritte  brothers,  ^ 
and  Michel  Cor  day.  ^  La  Graine  {The  Seed^ 
1903),  the  most  successful  of  Andre  Couvreur's 
works,  is  dedicated  to  Brieux,  whose  influence  is 
frequently  apparent  in  it.  The  novel  is  both 
a  plea  for  rational  procreation  and  a  warning 
against  the  evils  of  heredity.  Though  overcharged 
with  didactic  elements.  La  Graine  presents  the 
author's  views  clearly  and  forcibly.  The  plot  is 
firm,  and  the  families  and  types  necessary  to  bring 
out  the  various  contrasts  are  well  characterized. 
Brieux   and  the  less  known   social  writers  of 

both  the  imperative  necessity  of  eugenic  instruction  and  the 
almost  insurmountable  reluctance  of  parents  to  take  upon  them- 
selves this  duty.  {Cf.  Act  II:  "Why  don't  we  tell  our 
children  the  truth?  Why  do  we  go  on  hiding  behind  false  modesty 
and  personal  cowardice?")  In  The  Sins  of  the  Childreji  (1916), 
it  is  by  a  hair's  breadth  that  the  sons  of  Dr.  Guthrie  escape 
venereal  disease,  a  peril  he  could  have  spa;-ed  them  by  performing 
the  most  essential  duty  of  a  father.  Thus  Mr.  Hamilton  con- 
cludes that  "the  sins  of  the  children  are  brought  about  by  the 
neglect  of  the  fathers"  (p.  340).  Upton  Sinclair's  novel,  Sylvia's 
Marriage  (19 14),  in  which  the  child  is  born  blind,  reveals  the 
influence  of  Brieux. 

^  In  Victor  Margueritte's  novel,  Prostifuee,  which  was  drama- 
tized by  H.  Desfontaines,  the  infected  husband  becomes  the 
author  of  their  maid's  motherhood,  sullies  an  ouvriere,  and  con- 
taminates his  wife.     Hence  their  child  is  born  a  degenerate. 

^  Sesame  ou  la  Maternite  Consentie,  a  novel  by  this  social 
writer,  who  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  Brieux,  develops 
the  theory  that  a  scientific  discovery  will  enable  man  to  control 
nature  in  her  lavish,  indiscriminate,  and  hence  cruel  production 
of  life — a  hope  expressed  by  Brieux  in  Maternite. 

25 


386        Brieux  and  French  Society 

similar  tendencies,  whether  by  working  in  mutual 
sympathy  or  by  following  each  his  own  inspira- 
tion, have  already  made  a  creditable  beginning  in 
spreading  information  about  venereal  disease  and 
wet  nursing.  The  evils  of  both  are  today  infinitely 
better  understood  by  the  masses  in  France  than 
they  were  in  the  last  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  .  At  the  same  time  the  movement  in 
favour  of  eugenic  instruction  and  the  medical 
certificate  for  marriage  has  won  millions  of  ad- 
herents. Let  us  hope  that  the  younger  writers  will 
continue  Brieux' s  good  fashion  of  frankly  and 
boldly  discussing  such  matters,  whenever  they 
believe  such  discussion  to  be  needed. 


CHAPTER  XV 

CHARACTER    OF    THE    FRENCH    PEOPLE.      RELIGION 

La  Frangaise  (Brieux) — La  Foi  (Brieux) — La 
Morte  (Feuillet) — Le  Pretre  de  Nemi  (Renan) . 

THE  two  concluding  plays  of  Brieux's  so-called 
''second  period,"  which  appeared  in  the  two 
years  after  Les  Avaries^  contain  no  matter  that 
is  radically  new  in  his  work.  The  narrowness  and 
selfishness  of  the  bourgeoisie  and  their  unintelligent 
views  of  parental  duty,  which  form  the  burden  of 
La  Petite  Amie  (1902),'  resulting  here  in  tragedy, 
he  introduces  more  or  less  seriously  in  several 
other  plays.     Maternite  (1903),''  a  powerful  argu- 

^  Cf.  Chapter  IX,  p.  248,  note  2. 

^  This  drama  treats  the  subject  of  depopulation  in  its  relation 
to  motherhood.  In  order  to  curry  political  favour,  Brignac, 
a  sub-prefect,  becomes  an  apostle  of  repopulation,  imposing  upon 
his  wife  the  birth  of  a  child  each  year,  though  she  knows  that  he 
is  unfaithful  to  her.  Owing  to  dread  of  scandal,  however,  he 
drives  from  his  house  both  a  servant  about  to  become  a  mother 
(so  compelling  her  to  give  birth  to  her  child  in  a  filthy  den)  and 
his  wife's  younger  sister,  Annette,  whose  seductor  refuses  to  i/^i 
marry  her  because  she  has  no  dowry.     In  her  despair,  Annette,  ' 

while  living  in  Paris  with  her  sister,  who  has  left  Brignac,  has 
recourse  to  an  operation  by  a  midwife,  which  proves  fatal.  Dur- 
ing the  legal  proceedings  in  the  last  act,  the  attorney  for  the 
defence,  speaking  in  the  author's  name,  lays  the  blame  for  such 

387 


388       Brieux  and  French  Society 

ment  for  the  rights  of  motherhood  and  a  denuncia- 
tion of  men's  egotism,  puts  primary  emphasis 
upon  ideas  which  Brieux  had  elsewhere  made 
clear,  even  if  of  secondary  importance.  So  too 
of  the  plays  of  the  third,  or  "milder,"  period. 
Before  Les  Hannetons  (1906),'  Brieux  from  time 
to  time  had  thrown  light  upon  his  feelings  regard- 
ing the  tyrannical  exactions  of  ''free"  love.  Le 
Bourgeois  aux  Champs  (1914)^  emphasizes  the 
incompatibility  between  bourgeois  and  peasant 
that  Brieux  had  often  previously  pointed  out. 
La  Femme  Seule  (1913),^  championing  the  cause 
of  women  who  try  to  make  an  independent  living, 
may  seem  at  first  sight  to  take  up  quite  a  new 
subject,  though  after  all,  Brieux  has  seldom  missed 
a  chance  to  advocate  fair  play  between  the  sexes. 
But  in  two  of  his  later  plays,  he  considers  matters 
which  are  as  new,  relatively  to  his  other  works, 
as  the  themes  of  Les  Remplagantes  and  Les  Avaries, 


crimes  as  Annette's  upon  the  "hypocrisies"  of  society  and  the 
selfishness  of  the  rich,  who  would  impose  upon  the  poor  the  bur- 
dens of  repopulation. 

^  Cf.  Chapter  IX,  p.  250,  note  i. 

^  Cocatrix,  a  barrister  possessing  the  gift  of  gab,  having  ob- 
tained a  smattering  of  science  by  reading  popular  books  on 
agriculture,  moves  to  the  country,  with  the  intention  of  regenerat- 
ing farming,  preaching  hygiene  and  social  justice.  Naturally 
this  embryonic  socialist,  who  has  the  illusions  of  a  M.  Jourdain,  a 
Tartarin,  a  Bouvard,  and  a  P^cuchet,  is  duped  and  flouted  by  the 
peasantry  in  all  his  undertakings.  Moreover,  his  childish  social 
dreams  threaten  for  a  time  to  compromise  the  happine^  of  his 
daughter. 
.    3  CJ.  Chapter  IX,  p.  253,  note  4. 


Character  of  the  People.    Religion  389 

These  two,  then,  La  Frangaise  and  La  Foi,  deserve 
consideration  at  some  length;  without  them,  our 
study  of  the  scope  and  purpose  of  Brieux's 
dramatic  works  would  be  incomplete.  It  was  to 
be  expected  that  some  time  he  should  treat  these 
themes — the  one  of  broadly  national  and  the 
other  of  universal,  interest. 

Inasmuch  as  both  the  men  and  the  women  of 
France  have,  in  the  European  war,  vindicated  the 
French  character  by  daily  deeds  beyond  eulogy, 
it  is  interesting  to  consider  the  former  conception 
of  France  abroad  and  the  reputation  of  her  women. 
And  the  country  that  acquired  immortal  glory 
in  the  Crusades,  so  meriting  the  appellation 
^'Jille  atnee  de  VEglise,''^  the  country  that  was 
for  centuries  protector  of  the  Christians  in  the 
Orient  and  whose  kings  enjoyed  the  unique 
distinction  ^^tres  chretien,''  deserves  to  be  associ- 
ated with  the  eternal  question  of  faith.  ^  Moreover, 
the  two  plays,  though  not  Brieux's  most  recent 
works,  are  typical  of  his  latest  dramatical  period. 
In  this,  sometimes  far  more  than  in  earlier 
years,  he  has  shown  an  inclination  to  make  use  of 
symbolism. 

While  cruising  in  Scandinavian  waters,  in  1905, 
Brieux  was  painfully  grieved  to  observe  that 
France  and  her  people  were  completely  misjudged 
abroad.  "The  majority  of  inhabitants  in  the 
Scandinavian  countries,"  he  declares,   **  think  of 

^  On  the  supremacy  of  France  in  missionary  and  charitable 
work,  see  Leon  Lallemand,  Hist,  de  la  Charite,  iv,  31. 


390       Brieux  and  French  Society 

the  Frenchwoman  as  a  seventh-rate  vaudeville 
actress  who,  with  bantering  look,  sings  silly  coup- 
lets containing  shady  allusions.'*  He  goes  on  to 
say  that  France  is  judged  by  the  pornographic 
books  which  too  often  are  the  only  French  works 
displayed  in  the  show-windows  of  foreign  book- 
stores. French  residents  abroad  are  greatly 
chagrined  at  all  this,  as  the  French  consul  at 
Bergen  admitted  to  him.  In  order  to  combat 
such  false  impressions,  the  consul  suggested 
that  their  embassies  and  consulates  should  employ 
officials  to  urge  book  dealers  to  display,  at  the 
side  of  the  customary  "filth,"  works  that  sus- 
tain the  honour  and  the  fame  of  French  litera- 
ture. ^ 

Brieux's  complaints  are  well  founded.  As 
long  ago  as  1843,  Balzac  depicted  a  royal  procureiir 
who  arraigns  certain  French  men  of  letters  on  this 
charge.  "The  good  name  of  our  women,  espe- 
cially," the  magistrate  says,  "is  slandered.  For 
some  time,  this  sort  of  vile  literature  has  depicted 
only  adultery."  "^  Michelet  made  the  same  com- 
plaint, declaring  that  abroad  people  formed  from 
such  books  a  terrible  and  unjust  impression  of 

^  E.  Brieux,  Illustration,  July  8,  29,  Aug/.  12,  19,  1905.  Eight 
years  before  Brieux  wrote  La  Franqaise,  Gaston  Deschamps,  after 
a  searching  study  of  French  adultery  literature,  declared  pro- 
phetically: "This  subject  is  ripe  for  treatment.  ...  It  will 
appeal  to  all  authors  who  believe  that  literature  should  concern 
itself  with  everything  of  vital  interest  to  the  national  welfare." 
Le  Malaise  de  la  Dem.,  p.  135. 

^  La  Muse  du  Departement.    t 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  391 

France.^  Feuillet,  also,  protested  in  1867^  and 
again  twenty  years  later.  ^  Henri  de'^-Bornier, 
while  deploring  what  he  calls  "those  shameful 
works  which  slander  their  century  and  their 
country,"  objects  even  more  to  the  medicated 
immorality  portrayed  by  certain  authors  in  the 
guise  of  moral  instruction.  "*  Ferdinand  Buisson's 
denunciation  of  '^cette  presse  porno gr aphiqiie' ^  ^  is 
equalled  only  by  Felix  Pecaut's  powerful  indict- 
ment of  ^^cette  honteuse  litter atur e^  ^  Both  the 
French  novel  and  dramatic  literature  were  publicly 
condemned  by  the  representatives  of  criminal 
law  at  their  conference  at  Grenoble  in  191 2.* 
And  the  following  year,  Paul  Gaultier  wrote: 
"Who  could  describe  the  impression  that  this 
vileness  creates  among  our  neighbours !  There  are 
many  foreigners  whose  knowledge  of  France  is 
based  on  these  obscene  books,  which  slander  our 
women,  destroy  our  prestige,  and  undermine  our 
influence  in  the  world."  ^     No  wonder  that  the 

^  A.  Fonillee,  La  France  au  Point  de  Vue  Moral,  p.  98. 

*  M.  de  Cantors,  ii,  ch.  i.  ^  La  Morte,  p.  117. 

4  La  Lizardiere,  ch.  xvii.  To  this  class  of  authors  belongs 
Paul  Bourget,  who  has  been  reproached  for  inciting  to  adultery  in 
his  earlier  works.  "I  know  .  .  .  detestable  books,"  observes 
Rend  Bazin,  "which  have  an  excellent  thirtieth  chapter," 

^  Rev.  Pedagogique,  Apr.,  1895. 

^  Ibid.,  Oct.,  1894,  and  Mar.,  1897. 

7  A.  Capus,  "L'Infiuence  Littdr,"  Figaro,  June  3,  1912. 

^"Le  Poison  de  la  Pornographie,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Sept.  6,  1913. 
The  moral  responsibility  of  authors  is  the  timely  theme  of  Bour- 
get's  Le  Disciple  (1889)  and  Rod's  Au  Milieu  du  Chemin  (1900). 
Bourget  not  only  censures  certain  writers  like  Renan,  but  also 
cries  mea  culpa  in  disavowal  of  his  own  earlier  tendencies.     (Cf . 


392       Brieux  and  French  Society 

very  word  "French,"  in  certain  worthy  Anglo- 
Saxon  families,  is  a  synonym  of  frivolity  and 
immorality.  Needless  to  say,  more  serious,  sober- 
minded  people  than  the  French  in  their  inner 
family  life  do  not  exist.'  Brieux  observed  that 
France  likewise  suffered  abroad  from  the  un- 
patriotic and  unjustified  self-disparagement  of  her 
own  citizens.  Alfred  Croiset  says:  '*In  France 
we  have  always  excelled  in  the  art  of  self-abase- 
ment."^ Rene  Doumic,^  J.  Ernest-Charles,  ^ 
Victor  Giraud,^  Claire  de  Pratz,  ^  and  Gaston 
Riou^  make  similar  assertions.  The  most  serious 
manifestation  of  this  failing  has  been  the  spread  in 
France  itself  of  pessimism,  discouragement,  and 
lack  of  confidence  in  the  national  genius.  The 
absurd  theory  of  Latin  decadence,  though  of 
German  origin,  was  developed,  crystallized,  and 
given  deplorable  notoriety  by  such  prophets  as 
E.  Demolins^  and  Leon  Bazalgette,^  both  sons  of 

Le  Disciple,  p.  327.)  Rod  is  even  more  emphatic,  Cf.  his  novel, 
pp.  24-263. 

^  Claire  de  Pratz,  France  from  Within,  p.  xix. 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Nov.  23,  1912.        ^  Deux  Mondes,  June  15,  1898. 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  23,  1905.  ^  Deux  Mondes,  Dec.  I,  1913. 

^  France  from  Within,  p.  xvii. 

T  Aux  Ecoutes  de  la  France,  p.  247. 

8  La  Superiority  des  Anglo-Saxons  (1897).  This  "superiority," 
according  to  Demolins,  is  due  chiefly  to  the  individualistic  genius 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  as  opposed  to  the  communitaristic  Latin. 
In  many  respects,  however,  Demolins  presents  his  subject  with 
convincing  fairness,  as  was  to  be  expected  from  a  disciple  of  Le 
Play. 

^A  Quoi  Tient  VInferiorite  Fr.7  (1900).  The  author  argued 
that  nothing  but  a  complete  physical,  mental,  and  moral  reform 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  393 

France.  It  was  only  after  protests  had  been 
raised  abroad,'  that  French  pessimists  began  to 
be  reassured.  "^ 

These  facts  are  a  sufficient  ''apology*'  for  La 
Franqaise^  {The  Frenchwoman)  y  the  three- act 
comedy  which  Antoine  brought  out  at  the  Odeon 
in  1907.  Brieux's  purpose  is  to  satirize  the  errone- 
ous foreign  conception  of  France  and  French 
women,  attempting  at  the  same  time  to  remove  the 
cause  of  this  misconception  by  turning  opinion 
against  the  frivolous  tendencies  of  certain  French 
writers. 

Pierre  Gontier  is  spending  the  ''season'*  at 
Trouville  with  Marthe,  his  wife,  Jacques,  their 
boy  of  seven,  and  Genevieve,  a  daughter  by  his 
first  wife.  It  is  a  model  family;  Marthe  and 
Genevieve  are  like  two  affectionate  sisters,  and  the 
little  boy  is  sensible  and  well  behaved.  He  is 
very  fond  of  the  story  of  a  black  kid,  which  his 
mother  tells  him  as  a  reward  for  diligent  study. 
Each  day  the  attendants  at  the  Paris  Zoo  used  to 
give  a  kid  to  a  big  serpent  to  devour  alive.  Ordi- 
narily the  victim  would  crouch  in  one  corner  of  the 
cage  and  let  itself  be  devoured  without  resistance. 

.(and  by  "moral"  he  meant  anti-Catholic  "renovation")  could 
save  France  and  the  other  Latin  countries.  Cf.  the  Span,  trans, 
by  Camp,  pp.  94-180. 

^  H.  G.  Wells,  Anticipations  (1901);  J.  Novicow,  L'Expansion 
de  la  Nationalite  Frangaise  (1903). 

^  As  E.  Dimnet  has  said,  the  weakening  of  France  came  from 
ideas  obscuring  her  reason  and  enervating  her  moral  powers, 
France  Herself  Again^  p.  381.  f 


394    '  Brieux  and  French  Society 

But  one  day  the  attendant  put  into  the  cage  a 
little  black  kid  which  defended  itself — even  at- 
tacked the  serpent — and  so  the  director,  fearing 
that  it  might  make  the  serpent  blind,  ordered  that 
the  plucky  little  creature's  life  be  spared.  The 
moral  is  that  one  should  never  submit  tamely  to 
destruction,  not  even  when  it  seems  inevitable. 

Not  everything,  however,  goes  well  with  the 
Gontiers.  Genevieve  has  a  suitor,  but  his  father 
wants  a  bigger  dowry  than  her  father  can  give. 
His  capital  is  invested  in  his  foundry,  and  he  needs 
money  to  launch  an  invention.  Then,  too, 
Pierre  is  not  on  the  best  of  terms  with  an  elder 
brother,  called  simply  "Gontier,"  a  sulking,  surly 
royalist,  who  inherited  their  ancestral  chateau. 
Having  transformed  a  part  of  the  chateau  into  an 
amateur  carpenter  shop  and  storage  place  for 
sporting-goods,  he  lets  his  land  lie  untilled  rather 
than  contribute  anything  to  republican  prosperity. 
He  has  long  borne  Pierre  a  grudge  for  supporting 
the  Republic.  While  a  sort  of  emigre  in  the 
Far  West  of  America,  Gontier  became  intimately 
acquainted  with  a  ranchman,  Bartlett,  to  whom, 
on  returning  to  France,  he  entrusted  the  care  of 
his  son,  Charles. 

Charles,  now  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  arrives 
with  Bartlett,  to  pay  his  first  visit  to  his  father, 
and  before  going  to  the  chateau,  makes  a  little 
visit  to  his  uncle,  Pierre.  The  ranchman,  having 
read  in  countless  French  novels  that  every  French 
woman  welcomes  a  lover,  infers  from  their  cordial 


Character  of  the  People.     ReHgion  395 

reception  that  Marthe  is  making  advances.  His 
observation  of  the  gay  set  at  Trouville  confirms 
the  stories  he  has  read.  In  reality  Marthe' s  con- 
duct has  quite  another  motive.  She  shows  her 
nephew  every  attention,  foreseeing  a  love  affair 
between  him  and  Genevieve.  What  is  more, 
knowing  that  Pierre  needs  a  capitalist  to  finance 
his  invention  and  that  Bartlett  is  a  wealthy  man 
with  business  acumen,  she  wants  him  to  be  as 
friendly  as  possible. 

The  visit  of  Charles  and  Bartlett  results  in  a 
reconciliation  of  the  brothers,  but  does  not  disarm 
Gontier's  hostility  to  the  French  Republic.  In 
his  aspersions  he  declares  that  before  ten  years 
France  will  be  as  insignificant  as  the  Republic  of 
San  Marino.^  And  when  Bartlett  expresses  his 
preference  for  America,  Gontier's  guests  exclaim 
repeatedly  with  characteristic  self-abasement  '/'Ahl 
les  Anglo-Saxons ! " 

Emboldened  by  a  week's  visit  in  Paris,  Bartlett 
presses  his  attentions  upon  Marthe,  who  calls 
him  to  order.  The  ranchman,  in  his  amazement, 
stammers  excuses,  attempting  to  justify  his  atti- 
tude by  what  he  has  read  in  French  fiction  and 
by  his  observations  at  Trouville  and  in  Paris. 
Marthe,  after  pointing  out  to  him  the  folly  of 

^  "There  is  a  nation,"  declares  Bodley,  "to  the  members 
of  which  Frenchmen  are  more  revengeful  than  to  Germans,  more 
irascible  than  to  Italians,  more  unjust  than  to  English.  It  is  to 
the  French  that  Frenchmen  display  animosity  more  savage, 
more  incessant,  and  more  inequitable  than  to  people  of  any  other 
race."     France,!,  215. 


39^       Brieux  and  French  Society 

judging  the  women  of  her  country  by  popular 
French  literature,  the  demoiselles  of  the  boulevards 
and  the  political  carping  of  French  calamity- 
howlers,  exclaims: 

What  nonsense!  I  assure  you  that  there  are  still 
worthy  people  in  France.  There  are  still  respectable 
women,  too!  They  are  the  women  whom  you  do  not 
see — that  is,  the  great  majority — those  who  live 
with  their  husbands  and  children  around  the  family 
hearth  of  their  homes. 

Having  made  his  peace  with  Marthe,  Bartlett 
now  offers  to  finance  Pierre's  invention,  if  he  will 
come  to  America;  but  Pierre,  whose  favourite 
maxim  is,  "A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the 
bush,"  prefers  to  sell  his  patent.  Bartlett  declares 
that  this  proverb  has  done  more  harm  to  France 
than  a  disastrous  war.  ^  He  criticises  the  French 
for  lending  their  money  to  other  nations  instead 
of  investing  it  at  home.  As  a  consequence  of  this 
national  economic  sin,  a  foreign  house  operating 
on  a  large  scale  is  going  to  sell  the  articles  manu- 
factured by  Pierre  at  less  than  his  cost  price, 
thus  putting  his  antiquated  establishment  out  of 
business.     In  order  to  prevent  this  calamity,  the 

^  If  a  country  suffers  economically  and  politically,  its  literature 
reflects  such  injury,  according  to  Rene  Doumic,  who  writes: 
"The  literary  fortune  of  a  people  is  vitally  dependent  upon  its 
general  fortune,  its  commerce,  its  diplomatic  success,  and  its 
military  prestige.  The  literature  of  a  country  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  fate  of  all  its  energies  and  declines  with  them." 
Le  Cosmopolitisme  Litter,  en  igoo. 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  397 

American  finally  decides  to  furnish  Pierre  the 
capital;  they  will  exploit  his  invention  in  both 
countries.  Charles,  who,  it  goes  without  saying, 
will  marry  Genevieve,  is  to  remain  in  France  as 
Pierre's  associate.  He  and  Bartlett  have  formed 
a  more  favourable  opinion  of  France. '  A  country, 
they  think,  which  recuperated  so  rapidly  after  the 
disasters  of  1870,  notwithstanding  the  destruction 
of  its  vineyards  by  the  phylloxera,  should  not  lose 
faith  in  itself.  In  other  words,  according  to  the 
fable  of  the  Black  Kid,  France  must  not  consent 
to  her  destruction,  by  her  neighbours  or  by  herself.  ^ 
It  is  the  substance  rather  than  the  form  of  La 
Frangodse,  for  which  it  is  to  be  commended.  In 
dramatic  action  the  piece  is  conspicuously  weak; 
it  would  have  made  a  better  novel  than  drama. 
But  it  is  admirable  in  setting  aright  ideas  about 
the  French  character  and  in  driving  home  national 
truths.  In  a  certain  sense,  it  is  a  refutation  of 
Becque's  comedy,  La  Parisienne,  which  at  first 
bore  the  same  title  as  Brieux's  play,  La  Frangaise. 
Naturally  Brieux,  the  champion  of  the  French- 
woman as  a  faithful  wife  and  mother,  as  a  devoted 
guardian  of  the  fireside,  as  a  woman  unrivalled 
in  business  capacity  and  artistic  taste — in  La 
Frangaise  she  receives  all  these  tributes — denies 

^  The  surprise  of  foreign  students  on  discovering  how  much 
hard  work  is  done  in  Paris,  a  city  which  they  have  always  con- 
ceived as  a  centre  of  vice  and  pleasure,  is  depicted  by  Pierre 
Sales  in  his  novel,  La  Fournaise  (19 13). 

^  Le  Play  did  not  think  France  doomed  to  decay.  Cf.  U Or- 
ganisation du  Travail  (1870),  p.  124. 


398       Brieux  and  French  Society 

that  such  a  type  as  Becque's  heroine  is  in  any 
sense  representative  even  of  Paris,  much  less  of 
all  France.  Women  like  her  exist  in  France,  no 
doubt,  as  they  do  in  all  countries;  but  it  is  false 
to  generalize  from  a  few  isolated  cases.  ^  To  just 
such  unwarranted  generalizations,  based  on  the 
demoiselles  of  the  boulevards  and  the  poetic  reign 
of  adultery  in  French  fiction,  is  due,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  unfortunate  misconception  of  France 
abroad. 

All  true  friends  of  France  are  grateful  to  Brieux 
for  his  efforts  to  correct  these  erroneous  foreign 
impressions,  to  satirize  unwarranted  political 
fault-finding  among  his  compatriots,  and  to  induce 
them  to  abandon  their  unwise  commercial  timidity. 
After  attacking  customs,  systems,  and  abuses  in 
his  other  plays,  it  is  meet  that  here  he  should 
appeal  for  domestic  accord,  national  harmony, 
and  confidence  in  the  French  genius. 

In  its  confident  faith  in  the  destiny  of  his 
country.  La  Frangaise  in  a  sense  joins  the  theme 
of  La  Foiy  which  came  two  years  after  it,  in  1909; 
for  to  Brieux,  faith  in  a  supreme  being — the 
subject  considered  in  La  Foi — presupposes  faith 
in  a  country  with  such  a  noble  history  as  that  of 
France.  But  we  should  not  assume  La  Foi  to 
be  the  result  of  La  Frangaise;  the  germ  of  the 
later  play  had  been  in  the  author's  mind  for  years. 

*  J.  E.  Bodley,  to  whom  we  owe  the  best  foreign  interpreta- 
tion of  France,  says:  "That  is  the  last  country  in  the  world 
about  which  it  is  possible  to  generalize."     France,  i,  4. 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  399 

To  a  representative  of  Le  Figaro ^  who  called  to 
interview  Brieux  regarding  the  genesis  of  La  Foi, 
he  said : 

Before  the  age  of  twenty-five,  having  lost  my 
religious  faith,  I  chanced,  while  on  an  excursion,  to 
visit  a  famous  sanctuary  (Lourdes  is  meant)  where 
miracles  are  said  to  be  performed.  Impelled  by  a 
keen  interest  of  curiosity,  I  pressed  quite  close  to  the 
miraculous  Statue,  in  order  to  observe  the  fervent 
suppliants.  The  sick,  the  halt,  and  the  incurables 
in  despair,  pitiable  and  truly  tragic — all  were  imploring 
a  miracle.  Tears  flowed  down  my  cheeks ;  and  if  it 
had  been  in  my  power  to  destroy  the  faith  of  this 
pitiable  multitude  by  crying  out  that  miracles  were 
falsehoods,  would  I  have  done  so?     By  no  means.' 

It  was  there  that  Brieux  conceived  the  idea  of 
writing  a  drama  on  this  grave  subject.  But  owing 
to  profound  respect  for  all  sincere  convictions,  for 
years  he  could  not  decide  to  give  his  conception  a 
tangible  form.^  While  travelling  in  Egypt,  how- 
ever, he  found  the  background  and  still  more 
the  moral  atmosphere  for  his  characters. 

The  scene  of  La  Foi  (the  play  has  been  trans- 
lated into  English  under  the  title  False  Gods)  is 

*  G.  Sorbets,  Illustration  Thedtrale,  June  15,  19 12. 

^  Cf.  Brieux's  Discours  de  Reception:  "A  I'age  ou  j'ai  libre- 
ment  decouvert  les  beautes  de  I'adorable  mythologie  grecque, 
j'entrevoyais  deja  que  toute  idole  est  sanctifiee  parce  qu'on  a 
pri6  devant  elle  et  que  toute  religion  merite  notre  piet^,  si  elle 
ofTrit  pendant  un  certain  temps,  a  Thumanite  affolee  et  miserable, 
un  apaisement,  une  consolation  et  une  esperance." 


400       Brieux  and  P^rench  Society 

laid  in  upper  Egypt  during  the  Middle  Empire. 
Miracle  day  is  at  hand — the  annual  occasion  when 
the  multitude,  called  together  by  the  clergy  as- 
sembled in  the  Temple,  chants  the  sacred  hymn  to 
Isis  and  in  response  the  goddess  designates  the 
virgin  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice  to  the  Nile  for 
another  year's  fertile  inundation.  When  the 
ardent  prayers  of  the  people,  prostrated  before 
the  goddess,  attain  the  desired  fervour,  the  chosen 
virgin  beseeches  Isis  to  bow  her  stone  head  and 
grant  Egypt  her  protection.  This  act  of  divine 
grace  is  followed  by  miraculous  cures  among  the 
multitude. 

These  matters  are  discussed  by  a  group  of 
virgins  assembled  before  the  house  of  Rheou, 
a  dignitary  at  the  court  of  the  Pharaohs,  who 
personifies  official  hypocrisy.  His  blind  wife, 
Mieris,  who  each  day  places  flowers  before  a 
statue  of  Isis,  imploring  the  goddess  to  restore 
her  sight,  symbolizes  suffering,  groping,  hoping 
mankind.  The  superstition  of  the  grossly  ignorant 
is  embodied  in  Pakh,  a  potter.  On  the  other  hand, 
Pakh's  son,  Satni,  who  has  studied  abroad,  repre- 
sents truth,  enlightenment,  and  reason.  Satni 
is  betrothed  to  Yaouma,  the  virgin  chosen  for 
sacrifice  to  the  Nile. 

The  young  scholar,  knowing  the  truth  about 
miracles  and  sacrifices,  entreats  Yaouma  to  refuse 
to  be  sacrificed.  His  new  ideas  have  spread  so 
rapidly  that  Rheou  asks  him  to  cure  Mieris, 
who  has  almost  completely  lost  faith  in  the  gods. 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  401 

And  although  Satni  denies  that  he  or  anybody 
possesses  this  power,  Yaouma  and  others  think 
that  he  is  a  new  god.  Rheou,  turning  as  he 
thinks  to  the  rising  sun,  urges  Satni  to  slay  Pharaoh 
and  the  High  Priest  and  to  appropriate  their 
power,  but  Satni  again  refuses,  declaring  that 
truth  shall  triumph  without  bloodshed.  However, 
he  cannot  help  explaining  to  the  ignorant  and  the 
oppressed  the  folly  of  slaving  for  their  masters 
in  the  hope  of  future  reward:  "You  have  been 
deceived.  There  is  no  Isle  of  Doubles.  There  is 
no  reward  after  this  life."  Satni  also  defies  the 
gods;  and  the  populace,  excited  by  his  words, 
commit  deeds  of  violence  which  he  is  unable  to 
check.  Furthermore,  Mieris,  whose  consolation 
has  been  the  constant  expectation  of  a  miracle, 
declares  in  her  disillusion  that  her  soul  is  ''like  the 
desolate  walls  of  a  house  ruined  by  fire":  empty, 
dark,  devastated.  "Oh,  for  an  illusion!"  she 
exclaims,  "another  illusion  to  replace  the  one  that 
I  have  lost! "  She  wants  to  believe  that  there  is  a 
being  above  man.  ^  Equally  pitiable  is  the  poor 
potter,  the  young  reformer's  father,  who,  having 
been  mortally  wounded  in  the  uprising,  implores 
his  son  to  heal  him.     After  making  Satni  confess 

^  E.  Stoiillig  says  of  Fr.  de  Corel's  La  Fille  Sauvage  (1902) : 
"I  have  drawn  from  the  drama  this  conclusion,  that  we  must 
not  destroy  the  idea  of  the  marvellous  in  simple  souls,  for  fear  of 
destroying  also  in  them  all  faith  and  virtue;  for  fear  of  seeing 
them,  without  restraint,  avenge  the  loss  of  their  illusion  by  giv- 
ing expression  to  all  their  dormant  animal  instinct."  Annates 
(1902),  p.  358. 
36 


402       Brieux  and  French  Society 

that  his  new  ideas  are  wrong,  the  father  dies,  yearn- 
ing for  his  former  faith. 

Pharaoh  orders  Satni's  execution,  but  the  High 
Priest  prefers  to  try  coercion.  After  explaining 
to  the  young  apostle  the  manipulation  of  the 
stone  statue,  he  admits  the  multitude  to  the  Sanc- 
tuary and  leaves  Satni  to  judge  whether  ''  consoling 
falsehoods"  are  justifiable.  When  Satni  sees  suf- 
fering mankind  and  hears  the  distressing  sobs,  the 
moans,  and  the  supplications,  he  exclaims:  "Oh, 
the  poor  wretches!"  and  draws  the  lever  which 
works  the  head. ^  The  "miracle"  is  greeted  with 
delirious  joy.  Cripples  throw  their  crutches  into 
the  air  and  dance  about.  Rheou  now  disavows 
Satni,  the  reformer,  and  obtains  the  High  Priest's 
pardon.  But  angered  at  the  High  Priest's  revolt- 
ing cruelty,  Satni  again  proclaims  what  he  sin- 
cerely believes,  declaring  before  all  that  he  himself 
has  performed  the  "miracle."  The  fickle  populace 
massacre  him  as  an  impostor  while  Yaouma, 
transfigured,  passes  on  her  way  to  the  Nile. 

And  so  not  only  does  Satni's  attempt  to  enlighten 
the  common  people  fail,  but  a  reconsideration  of 
his  retraction  costs  him  his  life.  If  we  recall  the 
yearning  of  Mieris  and  Pakh  for  their  former  faith, 
we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  both 

^  Douceur  de  Croire  (1899),  a  drama  in  three  tableaux  by 
Jacques  Normand,  represents  a  savant  resolved  to  declare  to  the 
pilgrims  worshipping  at  the  shrine  of  St.  Hilda  that  their  patron 
is  an  impostor.  When,  however,  his  deceased  wife  appears  in  a 
vision,  imploring  him  to  leave  the  worshippers  in  their  illusion, 
he  throws  his  documentary  evidence  into  the  fire. 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  403 

unwise  and  wrong  to  undermine  the  spiritual 
convictions  of  the  faithful.^  But  not  unwise  for 
the  reasons  given  by  Voltaire — that  for  political 
prudence  the  masses  should  be  morally  restrained 
by  ignorance  and  fear  of  punishment  in  a  future 
life.  The  Voltairian  maxim,  ^^11  faut  une  religion 
pour  le  peuple,''  is  based  on  the  theory  that  en- 
lightenment and  truth  are  dangerous  because 
they  awaken  in  the  masses  discontent  and  hence 
resentment  towards  the  ruling  class.  Mieris, 
Brieux's  personification  of  mankind,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  discontented  with  ''enlightenment"  be- 
cause it  fails  to  satisfy  her  spiritual  needs.  The 
thought  that  a  vSuperior  being  does  not  exist  makes 
her  yearn  for  her  former  "consoling  vSuperstition." 
In  a  word,  Brieux  argues  that,  inasmuch  as  faith 
is  a  spiritual  necessity  for  many  people,  it  is  wrong 
to  deprive  them  of  this  necessity.^  Beyond  this 
Brieux  does  not  go.  La  Foi  is  not  an  appeal  for 
faith  any  more  than  it  is  an  attack  upon  religion. 
It  seeks  rather  to  explain  the  beneficence  of  faith 
and  the  moral  and  spiritual  value  of  religion.  On 
the  consoling  beneficence  of  faith  will  depend  the 
advisability    of   attempting   to    "disillusion"    be- 

^  Renan's  hero,  Antistius,  comes  to  the  same  conclusion: 
"Yes,  a  truth  is  good  only  for  its  discoverer.  What  is  food  for 
one  person  is  poison  for  another.  I  wanted  to  better  man,  but  I 
have  perverted  him."     Le  Pretre  de  Nemi,  iii,  3. 

^Brieux  reasons  much  the  same  as  Pascal  in  his  famous  "II 
faut  parier."  Maxime  Du  Camp,  though  not  a  believer,  declares: 
"II  n'est  pas  accorde  a  tout  le  monde  d 'avoir  la  foi,  mais  il  est 
impose  a  chacun  de  ne  point  troubler  la  foi  d'autrui."  La  CJiarite 
d  Paris  {18S5). 


404,      Brieux  and  French  Society" 

lievers  by  making  them  see  "truth'*  in  the  light  of 


reason." 


Essentially  this  same  point  of  view  has  been 
taken  not  only  by  such  conservative  writers  as 
Le  Play,  Feuillet,  Vogue,  Jules  Lemaltre,  and 
Bourget,  but  also  by  many  liberals:  Tocqueville, 
Quinet,  Taine,  Jules  Favre,  Hugues  Le  Roux. 
Bourget,  after  pointing  to  the  unfortunate  results 
of  the  eighteenth  century  (it  was  considered  a 
moral  duty  for  a  man  to  share  with  his  fellows  the 
"  truths"  that  reason  had  revealed  to  him),  remarks 
that  people  are  no  longer  convinced  of  the  imme- 
diate beneficence  of  such  enlightenment.  ^  In  the 
same  vein,  Eugene  Pelletan  observes: 

The  apostles  of  enlightenment  would  create  a  spirit- 
ual void  in  and  around  the  soul — put  it  under  a 
bell- jar,   so  to  speak.     Do  they  think  that  it  will 

*  Numerous  recent  works  either  allude  directly  to  the 
hostility  of  the  French  government  to  the  Church  or  depict 
the  ruinous  neglect  of  the  houses  of  divine  worship  in  France 
resulting,  as  we  infer,  from  this  hostility.  Thus  Francis  Jammes, 
in  protesting  against  religious  proscriptions,  exclaims  {Georgiques 
Chretiennes) : 

"Qui  t'a  rendue  aussi  ingrate,  6  Nation? 
Tu  chasses  ta  meilleure  enfant  de  ta  maison." 

Maurice  Barr^s,  after  rejoicing  at  the  firm  stand  of  Catholicism 
against  scepticism  and  rationalism  {La  Colline  Inspiree,  p.  44)^ 
wrote  in  defence  of  French  religious  monuments  the  powerful 
appeal  entitled  La  Grande  Pitie  des  Eglises  de  France  (19 14). 
On  the  distressing  condition  of  the  churches  in  France,  see  R. 
Vallery-Radot's  novel,  UHomme  de  Desir    (1912),  p.  242.  , 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  405 

consent  to  this  sort  of  suicide  by  asphyxiation?  You 
may  destroy  only  what  you  replace.  ^ 

Edgar  Quinet,  realizing  this  truth,  concluded, 
in  a  letter  to  Michelet,  that  ^^c^est  une  grande 
affaire  que  d'arracher  a  Vhomme  Vimmortalitey^ 

This  passive  attitude  towards  existing  faith  does 
not  satisfy  the  more  serious  moralists.  Even  if 
one  is  not  a  believer,  they  argue,  one  should  follow 
the  teachings  of  religion  just  the  same.^  Thus 
three  men  from  different  camps:  Vogiie,  a 
Catholic,  Rod,  a  Protestant,  and  Paul  Desjardins, 
an  ironical  dilettante,  have  agreed  on  the  necessity 
of  making  religion  a  rule  of  life,  and  the  duty  of 
doing  God's  will.^  Botirget  says  in  the  preface 
to  his  Essais: 

For  my  part,  the  long  diagnosis  of  the  present  moral 
ills  of  France  has  compelled  me  to  admit  the  truth 
proclaimed  by  Balzac,  Le  Play,  and  Taine — masters 
whose  authority  is  far  superior  to  mine — that  at  the 

^  Dieu  est-il-mort?  p.  285.  The  author  emphasizes  the  impos- 
sibility of  expecting  simple  people  to  philosophize  the  livelong 
day.  Hugues  Le  Roux,  while  admitting  this  possibility  in  the 
case  of  a  limited  few,  remarks  that  the  common  people,  women, 
and  children  are  incapable  of  such  abstractions.  Nos  FilleSf 
ch.  iv.  •,    ' 

^  "Lettres  d'Exil  a  Michelet,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Apr.  4,  1885. 

3  Louis  Bertrand,  writing  recently  on  the  life  of  Saint  Augustine, 
says:  "His  worst  foolishness  had  been  the  desire  to  understand 
all  things.  He  had  failed  in  humility  of  mind.  Then  God  had 
given  him  the  grace  to  submit  his  intelligence  to  the  faith.  He 
had  believed,  and  then  he  had  understood,  as  well  as  he  could, 
as  much  as  he  could."     Saint  Augustin  (1914),  p.  358. 

4  G.  Lanson,  Hist,  de  la  Lilt,  fr.y  tenth  ed.,  p.  1090. 


4o6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

present  time  Christianity  is  the  necessary  condition 
of  cure  and  health,  for  the  individual  as  well  as  for 
society/ 

Pressense  declared  that  an  atheistic  democracy 
practising  what  it  preaches  would  be  a  veritable 
social  hell.  ^  This  was  admitted  by  Henri  Martin, 
Jules  Favre,  and  George  Sand.  ^  Finally,  accord- 
ing to  Tocqueville,  there  is  no  counterpoise  to 
democratic  revolution  except  religious  faith.  "*  It  is 
only  by  a  sort  of  aberration  of  the  intelligence, 
and  through  moral  violence  to  his  nature  that  man 
strays  from  religious  faith.  ^ 

Among  writers  of  fiction,  Octave  Feuillet,  in 
La  Morte  {The  Dead  Woman,  1886),  has  similarly 
attempted  to  show  the  necessity  of  dogmatic 
religion  as  opposed  to  materialism,  science,  and 
philosophy. 

Mile/  Sabine  Tallevaut,  having  fallen  in  love 
with  M.  de  Vaudricourt,  poisons  his  wife,  in 
order  to  marry  him.  Sabine's  uncle  and  spiritual 
mentor,  Dr.  Tallevaut,  a  retired  physician  devot- 

^  "Pour  les  nations  comme  pour  Thomme,"  Maxime  Du  Camp 
writes,  "le  spiritualisme,  c'est  la  vie,  et  le  materialisme,  c'est  la 
mort."     La  Charite   cL  Paris,  p.  8. 

^  "Dieu  et  la  Loi  civile,"  Rev.  Bleue,  Apr.  I,  1882. 

^  L* Evolution  philos.  de  la  Dim.  avancee,  ibid.,  Apr.  4,  1885. 

4  E.  Scherer,  La  Dim.  etla  Fr.,p.g.  However,  Gabriel  Seailles 
observes  sarcastically:  "Si  grand  que  soit  le  bonheur  d'etre 
trompe,  le  peuple  refuse  ce  bienfait  et  demande  la  verite." 
{Education  ou  Revolution,  p.  69.)  According  to  Emile  Faguet, 
modern  democracy  considers  it  a  weakening  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people  to  believe  in  God.     Culte  de  V Incompetence,  p.  206. 

5A.  de  Tocqueville,  La  Dem.  en  Amer.,  i,  359. 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  407 

ing  his  time  to  scientific  research,  in  the  hope  of 
formulating  a  rational  creed  as  a  substitute  for  the 
"degrading  superstitions"  of  religion,  commits 
suicide  on  discovering  his  niece's  crime.  Not 
long  after  her  marriage,  Sabine  demands  the 
"right  to  happiness,"  and  so  M.  de  Vaudricourt, 
already  sorely  disappointed  in  his  new  union 
dies  of  grief  when  he  learns  the  cause  of  Aliette's 
death. 

The  moral  of  Feuillet's  tale  appears  in  the  con- 
flict between  the  beliefs  of  his  principal  characters. 
Aliette  is  a  woman  of  deep  religious  convictions. 
The  noble  example  of  her  Christian  life  fails,  how- 
ever, to  convert  her  husband,  owing  to  the  influ- 
ence of  Dr.  Tallevaut  who,  though  realizing  the 
necessity  of  religious  feeling  and  faith  in  an  ideal, 
maintains  that  this  faith  must  be  scientific  and 
rational.  Dr.  Tallevaut  is  essentially  the  eigh- 
teenth-century type  of  "philosopher":  charitable, 
just,  humanitarian — an  ideologist  sincerely  con- 
vinced that  mankind  and  the  world  are  exactly 
as  he  conceives  them.  While  admitting,  like 
Renan,  that  the  religion  of  science  would  not 
appeal  to  the  masses,  he  argues  that  it  will  suffice 
to  convert  the  intelligent  few,  who  in  time  will 
persuade  the  masses  by  moral  authority.  He 
points  with  pride  to  his  niece  as  an  example  of 
rational  education  for  women.  Hence  the  un- 
bearable shock  when  Sabine,  in  justification  of  her 
crime,  calmly  says  to  him  that  "the  tree  of  science 
does   not   bear   the   same   fruit   in   all   ground." 


4o8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Feuillet*s  argument,  though  carrying  conviction, 
is  nevertheless  somewhat  arbitrary.  ^ 

Very  different,  naturally,  are  the  views  of 
Renan,  the  ^^ Grand  Pretre  du  Neant^''^  who  satir- 
izes "the  egotism  of  the  mighty,  the  stupidity  of 
the  masses,  the  infamy  of  the  untruthful  clergy, 
and  the  weakness  of  the  liberal  clergy."  In  Le 
Pretre  de  Nenii  {The  Priest  of  Nemi,  1885),  he 
considers  the  problem  of  a  rational  transformation 
of  an  absurd  religion  into  a  more  humane,  spiritual, 
and  scientific  form.  Although  the  scene  of  his 
drama  is  laid  at  Alba  Longa  and  at  Nemi  before 
the  founding  of  Rome,  this  is  only  a  disguise, 
just  as  is  the  Egyptian  setting  in  Brieux's  tragedy. 
The  story  is  of  the  attempts  of  Antistius,  the  en- 
lightened High  Priest  of  the  oracular  temple  of 
Nemi,  to  abolish  sacrifices  and  turn  the  light  of 
truth  upon  the  dark  network  of  superstition  called 
religion.  But  his  humanitarian  reform  fails 
because  most  people  prefer  the  good  old  routine 
abuses  of  the  past,  at  least  in  religion.  Renan, 
like  Brieux,  admits  that  his  hero,  despite  good 
intentions,  does  more  harm  than  good.  Never- 
theless, he  is  convinced  that  in  the  end  reform 
will  triumph.   He  does  not  agree  with  the '  *  citizen  '  * 

^  The  same  objection  might  be  made  to  Histoire  de  Sihylle, 
an  earlier  novel,  in  which  Feuillet  emphasizes  the  necessity 
of  religion,  attacks  materialism,  and  shows  that  Catholicism, 
when  it  flows  from  its  pure  source,  fully  satisfies  man's  spiritual 
thirst. 

^  So  Edouard  Rod  calls  Renan  in  his  Idees  Morales  du  Temps 
Present. 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  409 

who  asserts  that  "a  country  that  abandons  reli- 
gion is  doomed." '  Rather  he  makes  clear  that  he 
agrees  with  his  priest,  Antistius,  that  "the  gods 
are  an  insult  to  God,  just  as  God,  in  turn,  will  be 
an  insult  to  the  future  scientific  conception  of  the 
divine."'' 

The  trend  of  religious  thought,  always  obscure 
and  difficult  to  diagnose  from  the  opinions  of 
critics  and  men  of  letters,  is  naturally  problematic 
in  France,  where  there  are  as  many  different 
shades  of  opinion  as  writers.  To  be  sure,  from 
time  to  time  some  critic  thinks  he  has  discovered 
a  definite  religious  tendency.  Now  v/e  are  told 
that  mysticism  predominates^  or  that  Nietzsche's 

*  Le  Play  observes  that  "the  most  prosperous  peoples  of  our 
time  are  also  the  most  religious." 

^  For  a  complete  disavowal  of  Renan — a  disavowal  by  his  own 
grandson,  Ernest  Psichari — we  need  only  open  the  recent  novel, 
L'Appel  des  Armes,  where  one  of  the  heroes  says  to  the  other 
(page  19):  "Ce  n'est  pas  un  grand  honneur,  mon  cher  Maurice, 
que  de  mourir  de  soif  dans  un  desert.  Mais  e'en  est  un  que 
d'avoir  une  id^e,  ou,  si  tu  veux,  bien  que  le  mot  soit  condamn^, 
une  foi." 

How  utterly  different,  too,  from  the  dreams  of  Renan 's  reformer 
is  the  mission  conceived  by  Robert  Vallery-Radot's  hero,  Augus- 
tin,  in  L'Homme  de  Desir  (1912),  page  165:  ".  .  .  Je  me  voyais 
entrainer  les  assemblies,"  he  says,  in  describing  his  vision  of  the 
future,  "courber  les  peuples.  Conqu^rant,  legislateur,  poete, 
Dieu  m'envoyait  pour  r6tablir  I'ordre  chretien  comme  aux  temps 
de  son  antique  majeste,  et  au  souffle  enfiamm^  de  mes  discours, 
les  paroisses  refleurissaient,  les  families  fructifiaient  dans  I'union, 
les  metiers  renaissaient,  les  cit^s  fortes  et  libres,  pareilles  a  d'im- 
menses  ruches  bourdonnantes,  travaillaient  dans  la  paix  et  la 
joie." 

3  A.  Maurel,  Rev.  Bleue,  Apr.  12,  1890. 


410       Brieux  and  French  Society 

vogue  has  spent  itself.'  Now  Ernest  Lavisse 
declares  that  French  students  are  obsessed  by 
religious  feeling,^  whereas  Michel  Stainville  an- 
nounces, on  the  contrary,  an  incalculable  diminu- 
tion, among  the  masses,  of  "the  immense  illusion 
that  formerly  sustained  throne  and  altar."  ^  Just 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  European  war,  Jean 
Finot  hailed  what  he  termed  the  return  of  man  to 
religion;  and  since  the  conflict  began,  numerous 
reports  of  a  renascence  of  faith  have  been  pub- 
lished. On  the  other  hand,  we  hear  frequently 
that  the  unprecedented  brutality  and  suffering 
of  the  war  make  people  lose  faith  in  the  existence 
of  a  supreme  being.  Whatever  be  the  state  of 
affairs  now,  it  does  seem  certain  that  before  the 
war  Renan*s  dogmatic  scepticism  had  lost  much 
ground  to  religious  faith  in  one  form  or  another.  ^ 
So  Edouard  Rod  maintained  stoutly  as  early  as 

'  E.  Schurd,  ibid.,  Sept.  8,  1900. 

^  J.  Honcey,  ibid.,  Jan.  3,  1891. 

^  Ibid.,  Mar.  24,  1900.  Thirteen  years  later,  however,  M. 
Stainville  was  flatly  contradicted  by  Alfred  Capus,  who  noted  the 
enhanced  prestige  of  the  cur6  in  the  politics-ridden  rural  districts 
as  a  result  of  imprudent  anti-clericalism  on  the  part  of  the  French 
government  and  the  harmful  poHtical  activity  of  the  lay  teachers. 
("Le  Poncif  Antimilitariste  et  Anticlerical,"  Figaro,  May  26, 
19 13.)  On  the  evolution  of  the  liberal  Voltairian  sceptic,  see  the 
same  author,  ibid.,  Aug.  19,  1912. 

4  If  specific  evidence  were  necessary  to  substantiate  this 
claim,  three  significant  facts  would  suffice.  I  refer  to  the  con- 
version of  Mme.  Juliette  Adam  (the  author  who  in  1883  wrote 
Patenne,  in  19 13  publishes  Chretienne!) ,  the  great  popularity  of 
Paul  Claudel's  dramatic  works,  and  the  sensational  vogue  of 
Louis  Bertrand's  Saint  Augustin  (19 14). 


Character  of  the  People.     Religion  411 

1 89 1  in  his  I  dees  Morales  du  Temps  Present,  the 
best  available  diagnosis  of  the  religious  situation 
in  France  at  that  time.  Rod  concluded  that  the 
French,  after  throwing  away  their  religion  and 
morals,  had  adopted  them  again.  To  Brieux 
religion  and  morals,  as  at  present  understood, 
may  be  but  crutches  of  the  spiritually  lame. 
But  until  enlightenment  greater  and  truer  than 
any  now  known  to  man  works  its  miracle,  Brieux 
pleads  for  respect  for  these  '^crutches.** 


CHAPTER  XVI 


CONCLUSION 


THE  sixteen  plays  which  we  have  analyzed  in 
detail  show  Brieux's  broad  range  of  interest, 
his  remarkable  talent  for  expressing  sociological 
convictions  in  dramatic  form,  and  his  sane  attitude 
toward  the  social  problems  of  our  time.  His 
plays,  except  those  dealing  with  marital  mis- 
understandings, do  not  lend  themselves  to  sys- 
tematic classification ;  but  the  consideration  of  them 
singly  rather  than  in  groups  has  the  advantage  of 
presenting  the  better  a  particular  theme  of  his  in  its 
relation  to  the  thought  of  other  French  authors. 
And  it  is  only  by  a  comparative  discussion  of 
Brieux's  themes  that  it  is  possible  to  understand 
to  what  extent  he  has  made  himself  the  spokes- 
man of  the  various  French  writers  interested  in 
the  same  questions.  This  position  he  has  won 
for  himself  of  right,  not  only  because  of  his  earnest- 
ness in  discussing  topics  of  vital  interest  to  his 
contemporaries,  and  frequently  likewise  to  his 
immediate  predecessors,  but  because  in  many 
cases — though  not  always — he  is  second  to  none 
in  giving  his  theme  skilful  treatment. 

Although   Brieux   has   not   formed   a   definite 

412 


Conclusion  413 

philosophic  conception  of  the  social  order/  he  is 
at  least  consistent  in  his  attitude  towards  the  ideas 
of  our  time.  After  all,  the  essential  business  of 
the  social  reformer  is  to  judge  existing  institu- 
tions and  customs.  We  do  not  need  new  theories 
and  new  truths:  it  is  far  more  important  that  the 
accepted  truths  and  theories  should  be  pre- 
sented in  their  true  light.  The  world  is  not 
governed  by  theories  so  much  as  by  the  adaptation 
of  theories  to  practical  needs.  Brieux's  impartial 
scrutiny  of  the  social  organism  of  France  has 
led  both  to  some  surprising  discoveries  and  to 
rectification  of  abuses.  His  efforts  are  the  more 
fruitful  since  he  neither  distorts  reality  by  magnify- 
ing everything  that  makes  it  detestable,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  recent  comedie  rosse,  nor  weakens 
his  case  by  the  evanescent  speculations  of  the 
dilettante. 

He  sees  clearly  that  French  society  is  still, 
more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  Great  Revolu- 
tion, in  a  painful  process  of  transformation.  The 
modern  social  structure,  erected  hastily  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Old  Order,  reveals  numerous  defects 
and  inconsistencies.  Certain  laws  have  lost  their 
usefulness,  or  even  become  oppressive.  Certain 
customs,  distorted  by  vicious  growths,  have  de- 
veloped into  veritable  curses.  The  abuse  of 
power,  whether  continued  from  earlier  social 
conditions  or  newly   developed,   has  become  at 

^  The  same  may  be  said  of  Balzac,  Flaubert,  Hugo,  Augier, 
Dumas  fils,  and  Anatole  France. 


414       Brieux  and  French  Society 

times  almost  intolerable — power  of  the  parent, 
of  the  physician,  of  the  judge,  of  man  over  woman ; 
the  power  of  money,  of  the  press,  of  free  speech, 
and  of  organized  labour.  Worst  of  all,  there  is 
no  widespread  moral  responsibility.  The  public 
conscience  is  demoralized  by  egotism  and  indiffer- 
ence, which  at  least  have  seemed,  if  not  in  reality 
they  are,  the  guiding  principles  of  modern  society. 

Brieux  knows  full  well  that,  in  spite  of  all  the 
advantages  of  individualism,  society  cannot  ignore 
moral  laws  with  impunity  any  more  than  it  can 
change  the  implacable  forces  at  the  base  of  its 
economic  life. '  As  a  sincere  friend  of  democracy 
he  deplores  the  existence  of  evils  that  retard  or 
defeat  the  realization  of  its  dreams.  When  the 
evil  seems  grave,  is  it  surprising  that,  in  order 
to  rouse  his  compatriots  from  their  indifference, 
he  should  preach,  admonish,  denounce,  and 
threaten?  For  he  is  convinced  that  people  should 
and  do  go  to  the  theatre  not  only  for  amusement, 
but  also  for  intellectual  culture,  for  ideas  on 
ethics  and  sociology.  Why  should  the  dramatist 
entertain  his  audience  exclusively  with  variations 
of  the  eternal  triangle,  when  the  vital  questions 
affecting  education,  government,  public  health, 
population,  marriage,  divorce,  parental  duties, 
gambling,  charity,  and  religion  are  vastly  more 
interesting? 

Surely  we  could  not  desire  a  nobler  conception 

^  Jules  Simon  has  demonstrated  this  truth  convincingly  in 
La  Liberie  Politigue  (1867). 


Conclusion  415 

of  the  dramatist's  purpose.  Literature  concerns 
itself  with  life — that  is,  the  manifestations  of 
human  activity.  These  manifestations  do  not 
consist  exclusively  in  the  relations  between  the 
sexes.  ^  Nor  need  they  necessarily  find  expression 
by  an  artist  indifferent  to  man's  moral  and  material 
welfare.  As  one  writer  expresses  it:  "Man  is 
not  made  for  art,  but  art  for  man.  One  thing — 
and  only  one — is  superior  to  art  in  life: — life  itself 
and  mankind."  ^  According  to  Renan — the  Renan 
of  1859 — it  is  an  unworthy,  degrading  conception 
of  literature,  to  take  the  view  that  it  should  be 
confined  to  a  jeu  d' esprit  without  application 
to  the  social  questions  of  our  time.  After  de- 
claring that  such  a  radical  misconception  would 
place  us  in  the  situation  of  the  gram^marians  of 

^  Brunetiere  remarks  that  "I'amour  n'est  et  n'a  jamais  €i6, 
ni  ne  peut  etre  la  grande  affaire  que  de  quelques  desoeuvr^s,  dont 
le  temps  n'est  ni  de  I'argent,  ni  du  travail,  ni  de  Taction,  ni 
quoi  que  ce  soit  qui  puisse  se  transformer  en  utilite  sociale." 

It  is  one  of  Brieux's  merits  to  have  understood  this  truth, 
and  a  still  greater  merit  to  have  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions. 
Similar  is  the  attitude  of  Emile  Fabre,  of  whom  Firmin  Roz 
has  recently  written  {Rev.  Bleue,  Dec.  23,  191 1):  "His  dramas 
present  the  great  problems  of  contemporary  society  and  develop 
before  the  spectator  the  various  forms  of  our  social  activity. 
He  has  shown  that  these  subjects  are  rich  in  dramatic  substance 
and  far  richer  in  dramatic  truth  than  all  the  stories  of  adultery 
around  which  the  majority  of  our  dramatic  productions  gravitate 
as  if  hypnotized."  Even  Catulle  Mendes,  one  of  the  devotees  of 
art  for  art's  sake,  goes  so  far  as  to  admit  that  "other  subjects  than 
adultery  may  tempt  the  dramatist's  inspiration." 

^  A.  Bertrand,  E.  Brieux,  p.  9.  Compare  Rod's  attack  upon 
art  for  art's  sake — his  earlier  creed — in  Au  Milieu  du  Chemin 
(1900),  p.  28. 


41 6       Brieux  and  French  Society 

antiquity,  he  maintained  that  the  great  problem 
of  the  nineteenth  century  was  not  God,  nor  nature, 
but  mankind. '  Life  being  made  up  of  a  thousand 
complex  realities,  our  actions  are  vitally  dependent 
upon  those  of  our  fellow-creatures.^  Who  would 
deny  that  the  conflicts  and  tragedies  of  life  are 
due  to  the  form  of  our  social  institutions  and  the 
''prejudices"  of  society  quite  as  much  as  to  the 
passions  of  the  human  heart?  The  mere  fact  that 
a  dramatist  portrays  the  conflicts  of  life  in  the 
light  of  their  social  causes  and  consequences,  does 
not  necessarily  detract  from  their  artistic  value.  In 
other  words,  the  works  of  George  Sand,  of  Augier, 
or  Dumas  fils,  with  their  pronounced  moral 
tendencies,  stand  comparison  with  the  works  of 
Leconte  de  Lisle,  Theophile  Gautier,  or  the  Gon- 
courts,  who  disclaimed  and  disdained  all  moral 
purpose.  ^ 

^  Essais  de  Morale,  pp.  6,  d>2.  Elsewhere  in  the  same  work 
(Renan  was  not  yet  a  dilettante)  we  read:  " L'art  veut  du  parti 
pris,  et  ne  s'accommode  pas  de  ces  moyens  termes  ou  se  complait 
le  critique." 

*  Paul  Leroy-Beaulieu  points  out  that  the  life  of  each  one 
of  us  is  intertwined  in  this  enormous  network  of  combinations 
.  .  .  which  touch  upon  our  profession,  our  fortune,  our  opinions, 
our  tastes,  our  relaxations,  our  general  conception  of  the  world, 
and  our  particular  conception  of  the  arts,  literature,  the  sciences, 
education,  politics,  and  the  work  of  helping  others.  The  Mod. 
State,  p.  54. 

3  Brunetiere  says:  "  The  useful  and  the  beautiful  are  certainly 
not  irreconciliable  or  incompatible.  And  especially  we  must  not 
think  that  the  one  can  dispense  with  the  other;  that  a  work  of  art 
is  moral  because  it  is  beautiful,  or  beautiful  because  it  is  moral." 
La  Litt.  europSenne  au  XIX'  Sihle. 


Conclusion  417 

In  recent  years  the  tendency  to  stand  for  some- 
thing in  Hterattire  has  been  growing  among  French 
men  of  letters.^  Not  a  few  of  them — noveUsts, 
dramatists,  critics,  essayists — now  take  part  in 
the  controversies  that  were  formerly  reserved  for 
political  economists  and  statesmen.  The  literary 
creed  of  the  impassive  artist  is  becoming  an  anti- 
quated rarity.''  Now  we  are  assured  that  all  the 
works  of  Lucien  Descaves  have  as  their  prime  ob- 
ject the  reparation  of  error,  the  setting  aright  of 
injustice.  ^  Now  we  read  that  Rene  Bazin  regards 
his  literary  mission  as  didactic  and  moral.  ^  It  is 
asserted  that  Paul  Bourget  became  a  dramatist 
in  order  to  bring  his  social  theories  upon  the 
boards,  which,  like  Brieux,  he  considers  a  con- 
venient  "tribune."^     Vogiie    thinks    that  moral 

Emile  Faguet  illustrates  the  point  with  a  comparison  of  Tolstoy 
and  Renan:  "If,  standing  with  Tolstoy  before  a  picture,  or 
a  novel,  or  a  woman,  you  ask  him  whether  the  object  is  beautiful, 
he  will  say  that  it  is  beautiful  if  it  is  moral.  To  the  same  question, 
Renan  will  reply  that  the  object  is  moral  if  it  is  beautiful."  Rev. 
Bleue,  June  13,  1896. 

^  In  G.  Lanson's  discussion  of  the  literary  movement  in  France 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  we  read: 
"  Les  ecrivains  qui  se  sont  senti  le  don  de  I'observation  morale  ont 
emigre  en  masse  (that  is.  from  the  sciences,  history,  and  memoirs) 
vers  le  roman  et  le  theatre,  pour  mettre  en  action  et  en  drama  leur 
experience."     Hist,  de  la  Litt.  Jr.,  tenth  ed.,  p.  1073. 

^  A.  Hallays,  Journal  des  Dehats,  Mar.  12,  1901. 

3  E.  Moselly,  L.  Descaves,  p.  30. 

4  A.  de  Bersaucourt,  R.  Bazin,  p.  27.  Bazin  himself  says: 
"I  believe  that  ...  a  work  of  art  is  a  work  of  instruction,  a 
lesson,  an  act  of  .  .  .  guidance  for  others."  Questions  litter, 
et  sac,  p.  146. 

s  E.  Stoullig,  Annales,  191 1,  p.  235. 

27 


4i8       Brieux  and  French  Society 

inspiration  alone  can  justify  the  harshness  of 
realism. 

Brieux's  dramatic  theories,  we  have  seen,  ^  are 
supported  by  Dumas  fils,  who  maintained  that 
all  literature  which  did  not  aim  at  perfectibility, 
morality,  utility,  was  moribund.  But  the  general 
tendency  of  French  literature  for  centuries  con- 
stitutes a  more  authoritative  precedent.  For  the 
literature  of  France,  while  striving  to  attain 
artistic  perfection,  has  always  sought  to  reflect 
the  moral  aspirations  of  the  time.  This  is  true  of 
the  great  names  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  and 
Boileau  himself  approves: 

"Partout  joigne  au  plaisant  le  solide  et  Tutile. 
Un  lecteur  sage  fuit  un  vain  amusement, 
Et  veut  mettre  k  profit  son  divertissement."^ 

With  Montesquieu,  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  and  Dide- 
rot, with  Destouches,  La  Chaussee,  Mercier,  and 
Beaumarchais,  the  tendency  becomes  particularly 
pronounced.  In  the  nineteenth  century,  Lamar- 
tine,  Vigny,  Balzac,  and  Victor  Hugo  give  free 
expression  to  their  moral  convictions.^     And  the 

^  Chapter  II,  p.  28. 

^  "From  Le  Tartiife  to  Le  Manage  de  Figaro,  the  comedies  that 
constitute  the  pride  of  our  stage  do  not  confine  themselves  to 
amusing  the  spectator.  They  give  him  moral  food;  they  make 
him  think.  While  preserving  their  comic  character,  they  solicit 
and  fix  his  attention  upon  the  gravest  questions  of  public  and 
private  morals."  G.  Pellissier,  Nouv.  Essais  de  Litt.  contemp., 
p.  64. 

3  G.  Lanson,  in  speaking  of  Lamartine,  says:     "Et  Ton  ne  peut 


Conclusion  419 

didactic  preoccupation  of  contemporary  French 
literature,  as  seen  in  the  evolution  of  Rod,  Coppee, 
Lemaitre,  Bourget,  Barres,  the  Marguerittes, 
Paul  Adam,  needs  no  comment.  Still  more  signi- 
ficant are  the  cases  of  Zola  and  of  Anatole  France 
who,  in  their  last  works,  desert  the  serene  heights 
of  indifference  for  the  arena  of  social  and  political 
combat.^  Finally  Paul  Flat,  a  standard-bearer 
of  art  for  art's  sake,  surprises  the  literary  world  by 
writing  Le  Frein  (191 2). 

The  French  are  truly  a  nation  of  moralists.^ 
The  chain  is  unbroken  of  French  authors  who  have 
never  lost  sight  of  the  evolution  of  life,  the  social 
and  moral  aspirations  of  mankind.  That  is  what 
constitutes  the  universality  of  French  literature, 
which  of  all  literatures  is  unquestionably  the  most 
social.  It  owes  its  eternal  character  to  the  social 
effort  which  it  represents,  as  well  as  to  its  sense  of 
style,  its  thought,  and  its  philosophic  depth. 

Brieux's  conception  of  the  drama  and  of  its 
function,  then,  is  a  continuation  of  well-established 
French  tradition.  If  we  need  further  expression 
of  his  views  than  our  analyses  of  his  several 
plays,  we  may  have  it  in  his  own  words : 

s'^tonner  des  accents  que  firent  entendre  son  Eloquence  et  sa 
po^sie,  lorsqu'il  eleve  jusqu'a  lui  nos  miseres  sociales  et  nos 
inquietudes  politiques." 

^  "The  successors  of  the  great  French  novelists  of  1865  and 
1885,"  declares  Bourget,  "found  themselves  suddenly  confronted 
v/ith  such  grave  social  problems  that  they  could  not  remain 
indifferent."     Pages  de  Crit.,  i,  129. 

^  A.  Filon,  De  Dumas  d  Rostand,  p.  167. 


420        Brieux  and  French  Society 

It  seems  to  me  [he  writes]  that  the  dramatist  should 
make  of  himself  a  sort  of  intermediary  for  transmitting 
to  the  general  public  the  thoughts  of  the  great  savants, 
which  are  inaccessible  to  the  masses.  These  concep- 
tions must  be  presented  in  a  noble,  generous  form. 
Yes,  that  is  our  role:  to  win  the  masses  by  bringing 
within  their  reach  the  noble  dreams  of  the  philosophers 
and  the  savants. 

More  and  more  the  drama  must  take  up  the  study  of 
the  great  social  questions.  The  comedy  of  characters 
has  practically  been  a  closed  genre  since  a  certain 
Moliere  wrote.  The  comedy  of  manners?  It  is  in 
all  of  our  plays,  but  does  not  sufhce  to  give  them 
life.  Therefore,  let  us  put  thoughts  and  deeds  into 
our  dramas.  Material  of  this  kind  is  abundant 
round  about  us,  in  the  suffering  of  our  fellow- 
creatures.^ 

Brieux  is  perhaps  the  first  French  dramatist  to 
avow  himself  so  frankly  an  intermediary  between 
the  philosophers  and  the  masses,  though  other  men 
of  letters  have  been  so  in  principle.  ^  His  idea  has 

^  Rev.  Bleue,  Sept.  7,  1901.  Brieux 's  views  are  still  essentially 
the  same,  if  we  may  judge  by  his  address  before  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Letters.  ' '  I  have  the  profound  conviction, ' ' 
he  said  on  this  occasion,  "that  the  theatre  may  be  a  valuable 
means  of  instruction.  I  should  not  limit  its  ambition  to  the 
amusement  of  spectators.  It  has  the  right  to  touch  upon  the 
most  serious  and  the  most  vital  issues.  By  means  of  the  drama 
I  wish  not  only  to  make  people  think,  to  modify  habits  and  facts, 
but  still  more  to  bring  about  laws  that  seem  to  me  desirable. 
It  has  been  my  desire  that  the  amount  of  suffering  in  the  world 
might  be  diminished  a  little  because  I  have  lived." 

^  Guez  de  Balzac  endeavoured  to  make  the  literature  of  anti- 
quity accessible  to  popular  readers.     Fontenelle  used  literature 


Conclusion  42 1 

something  in  common  with  that  of  Jules  Verne. 
But  Brieux  is  interested  in  the  moral,  social,  and 
political  welfare  of  mankind,  whereas  Jules  Verne's 
popular  treatment  of  science  aimed  more  particu- 
larly at  amusement,  man's  happiness,  and  material 
comfort.  Brieux  seems  to  have  been  most  influ- 
enced here  by  his  early  guide,  Herbert  Spencer, 
the  greatest  popularizer  of  philosophic  thought  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  ^ 

Theoretically  it  sounds  fascinating  enough  for  a 
dramatist  to  communicate  to  the  masses  the 
dreams  of  philosophers  and  savants.  But  has 
Brieux  done  this?  To  a  certain  extent  he  has, 
especially  in  his  "medical"  plays  {Les  Avaries, 
Maternite),   and  also  more  or  less  in  VEvasion^ 

as  a  medium  for  disseminating  philosophy  and  science.  Diderot, 
likewise.  Abbe  Barthelemy's  Le  Voyage  du  Jeune  Anacharsis 
was  written  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  beauties  of 
antiquity  within  the  reach  of  the  masses.  Pasteur  never  lost 
sight  of  the  common  people.  Sully  Prudhomme's  use  of  philo- 
sophy and  science  as  a  means  of  instructing  his  readers  is  well 
known.  Compare  Camille  Flammarion,  the  popularizer  par 
excellence  of  astronomical  science.  Sainte-Beuve,  pointing  to  the 
example  of  the  seventeenth  century,  used  to  urge  writers  to  bring 
their  works  within  the  reach  of  all.  According  to  G.  Lanson,  this 
advice  has  borne  fruit.  "A  solicitude  long  unknown  to  our 
writers,"  he  observes,  "now  preoccupies  many  of  them,  even 
superior  artists.  They  intend  to  be  heard  not  merely  by  an 
elite,  but  by  all  France."  Emile  Faguet,  however,  thinks  that 
literature  and  art,  if  popular,  must  be  mediocre. 

^  "Interview,"  Z)az7>'  Mail,  Aug.  24,  1909.  Cf.  Chapter  IV, 
p.  96.  Herbert  Spencer,  the  great  exponent  of  English  positivism, 
emphatically  denied  the  assertion  often  made  that  he  was  a  dis- 
ciple of  Auguste  Comte.  {Soc.  Statics,  ed,  1865,  Introd.)  At 
any  rate,  he  owes  his  fame  largely  to  his  popularity  in  France. 


422       Brieux  and  French  Society 

Les  RemplaganteSj  and  Simone.  ^  In  such  plays  as 
Blanchettey  L'Engrenage^  Les  Trcns  Filles  de  M. 
Dupontj  Le  BerceaUj  La  Robe  Rouge,  Les  Hanne- 
tonSj  Suzette,  and  La  Femme  Seide,  on  the  contrary, 
his  inspiration  has  its  origin  in  the  emotion  he 
feels  from  contact  with  his  surroundings.  This 
emotion  is  inspiration  enough;  it  seizes  him  at  the 
outset  and  holds  him  in  its  spell  to  the  very  end. 
As  in  the  case  of  ever^^  true  artist,  there  is  the 
closest  relation  between  Brieux's  life  and  his 
works. 

We  have  seen  that  it  is  generally  impossible  to 

trace  any  logical  connection  between  the  subjects 

of  Brieux's  plays.     The  reason  is  that,   a  born 

[    moralist,^   he   has   a   veritable   instinct   for   the 

I  It  has  been  asserted  that  before  writing  a  play  Brieux  in- 
structs himself  thoroughly  on  the  subject.  It  must  be  said  to 
his  credit,  however,  that  he  never  makes  a  display  of  profes- 
sional knowledge.  One  unavoidable  exception  is  Les  Avaries, 
where  such  knowledge  must  of  necessity  constitute  a  vital  element 
of  the  play. 

^  Without  wishing  to  discuss  at  length  the  merits  or  demerits 
of  much-abused  thesis  literature,  I  agree  with  Augustin  Filon, 
who  takes  the  view  that  if  the  thesis  is  good,  why  should  the  play 
not  be  good  also?  (Ue  Dumas  a  Rostand,  p.  190.)  Brunetiere 
mentions  a  number  of  successful  thesis  plays,  and  Emile  Faguet 
declares  that  "il  n'y  a  guere  de  grande  comedie  de  Moliere  qui 
ne  soit  une  piece  a  th^e."  (Propos  de  Thedtre,  iv,  42.)  Georges 
Pellissier  takes  Becque  to  task  for  opposing  thesis  literature, 
since  his  works  that  count  all  support  a  constant  thesis  against 
mankind.  Marcel  Prevost's  recent  novel,  Les  Anges  Gardiens,  is 
proof  that  a  convincing  thesis  need  not  mar  a  literary  work.  In 
this  connection  G.  Lanson  says:  "Voltaire  was  not  wrong  in 
wishing  to  express  on  the  stage  his  conception  of  life,  of  society/, 
and  the  good;  but  he  lacked  the  genius  necessary  to  put  his  con- 


Conclusion  423 

disintegrating  evils  from  which  contemporary 
society  is  suffering;  and  being  unable  to  occupy 
himself  with  all  the  subjects  that  suggest  them- 
selves, he  chooses  what  at  the  time  he  regards 
the  most  urgent,  even  though  it  may  seem  to  others 
commonplace.  Large  as  his  range  of  subjects 
is,  it  does  not  include  the  ordinary  sex-themes, 
the  mere  sentimentalities  of  adultery,^  the  sub- 
tilities  of  passion,  idle  salon  prattle,  psychic 
problems,  and  the  mysteries  of  the  soul, — omis- 
sions which,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  constitute 
the  whole  of  literature.  His  dramas  are  equally 
distant  from  the  brutal  ''naturalism"  of  a  Zola 
and  the  fragile  grace  of  a  Feuillet.  If  they  lack 
the  picturesque  colouring  of  a  Loti,  a  IMendes,  a 
Richepin,  they  are  free  from  the  morbid  characters 
of  a  Goncourt  or  a  Bataille.  Though  excelling  in 
satire  and  a  somewhat  grim  humour,  Brieux  takes 
no  interest  in  modernity  and  exoticism.  Nor 
does  he  care  for  mysticism  and  the  occult  sciences. 
The  themes  which  interest  him  are  righteousness 
and  justice,  public  conscience  and  fair  play,  the 
errors  and  vices  of  his  compatriots,  the  onward 


ceptions  in  dramatic  form."     To  my  mind  it  is  not  the  thesis 
play  that  is  objectionable,  but  rather  a  thesis  vsithout  a  play. 

»  At  least  not  for  the  sake  of  the  theme.  One  seeming  excep- 
tion is  Les  Hannetons,  which,  however,  has  a  deep  moral  purpose. 
Nobody  would  say  that  Brieux  wrote  Les  Trots  Filles  de  M.  Du- 
pont,  Les  Avaries,  La  Petite  Amie,  Maternite,  La  Deserteuse,  or 
Simone  in  order  to  represent  illicit  love,  much  less  to  glorify 
unbridled  passion.  In  every  case,  such  a  situation  serves  merely 
to  prepare  the  social  problem  that  he  purposes  to  consider. 


424       Brieux  and  French  Society 

march  of  civilization,  and  the  future  of  mankind. 
Fortunately  he  avoids  questions  of  race-antagon- 
ism and  party-strife.  ^  Nowhere  in  his  plays  is  the 
"Affaire"  referred  to. 

■  It  is  not  necessary  to  review  either  the  subjects 
of  Brieux's  plays  or  the  conclusions  to  which  they 
lead  him.  Our  summaries  of  them  should  have 
made  clear  the  most  important  of  his  aims  and 
fundamental  ideas — his  solicitude  for  the  child, 
his  contempt  for  cahotinage  or  any  other  kind  of 
posing  or  affectation,  his  anxiety  at  some  results 
of  universal  suffrage,  his  belief  in  the  rights  of 
women,  his  advocacy  of  longer  courtship  and  com- 
patibility rather  than  the  dowry  as  the  foundation 
of  marriage,  his  concern  for  the  economic  welfare 
and  the  good  name  of  France,  his  steadfast  desire 
to  prevent  human  suffering. 

Although  predominantly  a  liberal  and  sometimes 
aggressive  in  his  zeal  for  reform,  Brieux  is  in  no  sense 
an  anarchist  or  a  revoUe,  for  he  constantly  seeks  to 
ameliorate  rather  than  destroy  present  conditions. 
Nor  must  we  consider  him  a  reactionary  because 
he  sees  grave  defects  in  the  institutions  of  re- 
publican democracy.^  Much  as  he  regrets  these 
defects,  he  would  not  favour  a  return  to  monarchial 
government,  though  he  has  unquestionably  become 

^  In  La  Franqaise  one  of  his  spokesmen  says:  "On  a  tou jours 
tort  de  denigrer  son  pays."  It  is  related  that  certain  Frenchmen 
were  so  unpatriotic  as  to  represent  the  tragic  disasters  of  the 
siege  of  Paris  and  of  the  Commune  in  caricature. 

^  In  the  struggle  between  the  social  body  and  the  individual, 
like  Augier,  he  favours  the  social  body. 


Conclusion  425 

more  conservative  in  recent  years.  Defects  in 
democracy  can  be  remedied,  its  abuses  can  be 
abolished,  if  the  citizens  will  but  lend  their  support. 
To  enlist  this  support,  is  the  unvarying  purpose  of 
his  dramas. 

As  a  true  child  of  positivism,  Brieux  is  an 
agnostic,  but,  as  we  have  seen  in  La  Foi,  by  no 
means  an  enemy  of  religion.  With  more  truth 
he  might  be  called  a  pessimist,  and  yet  on  the 
whole  the  optimistic  element  predominates  in  his 
works,  for  a  reformer  would  go  out  of  business 
if  he  did  not  have  faith  in  the  future  of  mankind. 
Pessimism  does  unquestionably  mar  Les  Trots 
Filles  de  M.  Diipont,  Resultat  des  Courses,  La 
Petite  Amie,  and  Mater nite,  but  a  true  portrait 
of  contemporary  society  must  needs  show  some 
dark  shades.  Unfortunately,  in  the  dramas  just 
mentioned,  Brieux  exaggerates  beyond  reasonable 
proportions,  though  I  doubt  not  that  in  every 
case  he  has  recorded  only  his  actual  feelings  and 
impressions.  In  justification  of  his  pessimistic 
boutades  M.  de  Segur  says:  ^^Lorsque  vous  pene- 
trez  dans  Vectirie  d'Augias,  ce  n^est  pas  pour  y 
ojoutery  comme  on  a  dit  d'un  autre^  mats  pour  y 
faire  passer  un  souffle  vivifiant,  un  large  flot  limpide 
et  purificateur .  Votre  pessimisme  est  tout  im- 
pregne  de  pitied  ^  In  the  light  of  this  remark, 
Brieux' s  pessimistic  tendencies  are  only  expres- 

*  Disc,  de  Reponse.  As  one  of  the  guiding  principles  of  his 
life,  Brieux  quotes  from  Guyau:  "Tout  aimer  pour  tout  com- 
prendre,  tout  comprendre  pour  tout  pardonner." 


426       Brieux  and  French  Society 

sions  of  the  emotion  he  feels  in  presence  of  the 
suffering  of  his  fellow-creatures,  and  indignation 
at  the  indifference  of  those  largely  responsible  for 
the  suffering.  Here  is  proof  again  of  the  sincerity 
of  his  convictions. 

And  sincerity  is  Brieux*s  predominant  char- 
acteristic. Not  a  single  critic  has  denied  him  this 
quality,  without  which  the  efforts  of  the  social 
reformer  are  inevitably  doomed  to  failure.  Other 
good  traits  that  stand  out  prominently  in  his 
dramas  are  faith,  vigour,  and  courage.  Few  men 
have  a  surer,  more  unerring  sense  of  right  and 
wrong  than  he.  Few  have  a  clearer  conception 
of  justice  and  injustice.  Nobody  approaches  the 
study  of  social  problems  with  greater  sympathy 
and  impartiality.  It  is  not  surprising  that  a  man 
with  these  qualities — sincerity,  faith,  courage, 
sound  judgment,  impartiality,  sympathy,  a  keen 
sense  of  right  and  wrong — should  have  been 
called  -'apostle."^ 

'  Brieux's  language  and  style  have  been  severely  criticised. 
Paul  Flat  observes:  "He  writes  as  people  speak — as  certain 
people  speak — which  is  indeed  the  worst  form.  His  is  the  style 
of  the  sociologist  or  of  the  economist,  when  it  is  not  the  style  of 
the  rostrum  or  of  the  political  meeting."  As  a  foreigner  I  admit 
my  incompetency  to  judge  in  the  matter.  But  I  remember  that 
practically  the  same  criticism  has  been  made  of  Rabelais,  Moliere, 
Honors  de  Balzac,  Musset,  and  Auguste  Comte.  To  my  mind, 
one  may  prefer  Saint-Simon  to  Guez  de  Balzac  or  Voiture. 
According  to  Bruneti^re,  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  good  writer  is 
simply  one  who  says  all  that  he  wants  to  say,  who  says  only 
what  he  wants  to  say,  and  exactly  as  he  intended  to  express  him- 
self.   Or,  as  CatuUe  Mendes  puts  it:  "Tout  artiste  n'est  tenu  qu'^ 


Conclusion  427 

There  is  yet  to  add  to  all  this  sum  of  good  the 
merits  of  Brieux*s  art.  Were  the  matter  of  his 
plays  far  less  noteworthy  than  it  is,  their  technique 
would  still  give  him  a  conspicuous  place  among  con- 
temporary French  dramatists.  A  mere  enumera- 
tion of  his  superior  scenes  —  whether  comic, 
humorous,  satiric,  or  tragic — would  require  several 
pages.  Many  of  them  have  been  indicated  in 
our  summaries  of  his  plays.  They  show  accurate 
observation  of  human  nature,  with  remarkable 
insight  into  the  character  of  the  peasantry  and  of 
the  lower-middle  class;  a  faculty  for  discerning 
the  essential  points  of  dramatic  interest  in  a  given 
theme;  and  finally,  the  art  of  vivifying  characters 
and  situations  with  the  emotion  they  awaken  in 
him.  This  unity  of  art  with  sanity,  sympathy, 
honesty,  and  seriousness  of  purpose  fully  explains 
Brieux's  high  rank  among  the  French  dramatists  of 
his  time.  We  can  well  understand  now  why 
Leopold  Lacour  should  write:  ^^Nous  saluons  en 
lui  un  Frangais  de  race^ 

r^aliser  son  oeuvre  selon  I'art  qu'il  congoit;  et,  des  qu'il  fait  comme 
il  a  voulu,  il  a  raison." 


INDEX 


Abel,  H.,  63 
About,  Edmond,  108 
Adam,  Mme.  Juliette,  410 
Adam,  Paul,  197,  226,  243,  345, 

356,  357,  419 
Aguesseau,  342,  346,  349,  363 
Aicard,  Jean,  112 
Alexis,  Paul,  55 
Ancey,  Georges,  249 
Antoine,  Andre,  7,   9,  10,  11, 

78 
Arago,  204 
Arthur,  King,  327 
Aubign^,  Agrippa  d',  328 
Augier,  Emile,  i,  7,  22,  27,  37, 
46,  69,  75,  80,  96,  117,  120, 
124,  219,  235,  236,  253,  259, 
279,292,  307,321,413,  416, 
424 
Augustine,  Samt,  293,  405 
Auvard,  Gaston,  265 


B 


Balzac,  Guez  de,  420,  426 

Balzac,  Honore  de,  22,  34,  36, 
43,  61,  62,  80,  143,  168,  174, 
185,  196,  204,  216,  225,  235, 
236,  242,  253,  332,  343,  364, 
390,  405,  413,  418,  426 

Barres,  Maurice,  63,  84,  94, 
99,  137,  162,  164,  165,  207, 
208,  347,  404,  419 

Barriere,  Theodore,  235 

Barthelemy,  Abbe,  42 1 

Basset,  Serge,  293 

Bataille,  Henry,  57,  58,  131, 
287,  292,  300,  306,  423 

Baudelaire,  40,  65 

Baudin,  Pierre,  113 


Bazalgette,  L6on,  392 
Bazin,  Rene,  94,  iii,  177,  179, 
190,  198,  207,  243,  293,  294, 

295,  301,  367,  372,  391,  417 
Beaumarchais,   103,  329,  330, 

418 
Beaunier,  A.,  136 
Becque,  Henry,  7,  11,  62,  120, 

149,  152,  235,  238,  313,  347, 

397,  422 
Belleau,  Remy,  327 
Benoist,  Antoine,  80,  243 
Benoist,  Charles,  149,  166 
Bentzon,  T.,  270 
Berenger,  Henri,  63,  162 
Bergson,  Henri,  137,  207 
Berlioz,  36 
Bernard,     Claude,    203,    206, 

207,  351 
Bernard,  Tristan,  158,  349 
Bemede,  Arthur,  348 
Bernheim,  Adrien,    159 
Bernstein,  Henri,   56,    58,    70, 

116,  219,  220,  221,  290,  292, 

293,  301,  308 
Berr  de  Turique,  J.,  57 
Berryer,  336,  354 
Bersaucourt,  Albert  de,  417 
Berthelot,  Marcelin,  203 

Bertin,  E.,   144 

Bertrand,  Adrien,  16,  45,  136, 

415 
Bertrand,     Louis,     293,     405, 

410 
Bidou,  Henri,  321 
Bilhaud,  P.,  267 
Bisson,  A.,  265,  334,  351,  353 
Blaize,  Jean,  51 
Bloch,  J.-R.,  37 
Bodley,    J.  E.,  iii,  153,  160, 

166,  170,  395,  398 
Boileau,  418 


429 


430 


Index 


Boniface,    Maurice,    ii,    153, 

162 
Bonjean,  Louis-Bernard,  363 
Borde,  Maitre  Jules,  342,  343 

344.  350,  351,  353 
Bordeaux,    Henry,    121,    132, 

133.  137,  138,  149,  179.  243, 
249,  345,  354.  357.  360 

Bornier,  Henri  de,  96,  253,  391 

Bouchinet,  Albert,  299 

Boulanger,  Gen.  Georges,  159 

Bourget,  Paul,  45,  90,  92,  99, 
108,  no,  132,  137,  142,  178, 

191,  193,  194,  197.  198,  204, 

207,  208,  223,  231,  243,  270, 

29i»  303,  312,  313,  348,  391, 

404,  405.,  41 7,  419 
Boutroux,  Emile,  137,  202,  207 
Br6mond,  H.,  165 
Brisac,  M.,  19 
Brisson,  Adolphe,  3,  19,   113, 

271 
Broglie,  Due  de,  83 
Broglie,  Paul  de,  205 
Brouardel,  Dr.,  383 
Broussais,  227 
Brulat,  Paul,  35 
Brunetiere,  44,  59,   205,  206, 

209,  225,  226,  415,  416,  422, 

426 
Bruyerre,  Louis,  345 
Buffon,  22 

Buisson,  Ferdinand,  99,  391 
Bury,  R.  de,  384 


C£esar,  102 

Caillavet,  H.  de,  131 

Capus,  Alfred,  32,  33,  34,  38, 
47.  51.  52,  61,  63,  71,  137, 
153,  166,  197,  220,  230,  240, 
267,  277,  278,  300,  305,  319, 
356,  391,  410 

Caro,  E.-M.,  227 

Case,  Jules,  280,  300,  305 

Casella,  Georges,  112 

Casenave,  A.,  116,  338 

Chatne,  Pierre,  112 

Champion,  E.,  169 


Chandler,  F.  C,  378 
Charles  X,  King,  346 
Chateaubriand,   4,   6,   60,   63, 

103 
Chatterton-Hill,  G.,  244 
Chenier,     Marie- Joseph,     143 

330,  350,  361 
Cheusi,  P.,  260 
Chevallier,  Louis,  50,  125 
Chretien  de  Troyes,  303,  326 
Cim,  Albert,  74,  76 
Cladel,  Leon,  65 
Clairville,  G.,  116 
Claretie,  Jules,  18,  144 
Clark,  Barrett  H.,  12 
Claudel,  Paul,  410 
Clement,  H.,  75 
Cochin,  Augustin,  175 
Comte,  Auguste,  29,  60,   118, 

175,  204,  421,  426 
Constant,  Benjamin,  no 
Coolus,  Romain,  300,  305,  306, 

320 
Copp^e,  Frangois,  64,  65,  90, 

III,  112,  166,  207,  270,  333, 

354.  367,  419 
Coquillart,  327 
Corday,  Michel,  385 
Corneille,  11,  104,  224 
Cornut,  Samuel,  92 
Coubertin,  P.  de,  98,  167 
Courier,  Paul-Louis,  165 
Courteline,  Georges,  158,  334 
Couvreur,    Andr6,    228,    229, 

380,  385 
Croiset,  A.,  392 
Croisset,  F.  de,  125 
Curel,  F.  de,  11,  113,  178,  188, 

189,  198,  207,  224,  225,  226, 

232,  321,  401 
Cuvier,  22 

D 

Darwin,  175,  206 
Daubresse,  M.,  112 
Daudet,    Alphonse,    112,    217, 
218,  232,  267,  268,  273,  315, 

317.  350 
Daudet,  L6on,   164,  207,  225, 
227,  228,  232,  268 


Index 


431 


Daurat,  Claude,  34 
Deherrae,   Georges,    73,    176, 

185,  333 
Delpit,  Albert,  27 
Delzons,  Louis,  116,  323 
Demolins,    Edmond,    92,    99, 

138,  252,  392 
Demosthenes,  365 
Deroul^de,  Paul,  63 
Descaves,  Lucien,  11,  56,  191. 

196,  198,  299,  417 
Deschamps,    Gaston,  84,  378, 

390 

Desjardins,  Arthur,   141,   173, 

341 

Desjardins,  Paul,  207,  405 

Destouches,  105,  418 

Devore,  Gaston,  113,  126,  128, 

129 
Dhur,  Jacques,  355 
Dickens,  200 
Diderot,  418,  421 
Dieulafoy,  Mme.  Jeanne,  270 
Dimnet,  E.,  138,  148,  393 
Donnay,  Maurice,  38,  47,  51, 

115,  191,290,  300,  305,  318, 

319 

Dostoevski,  200,  334 
Doumer,  Paul,  115,  118,  133 
Doumic,  Ren^,  9,  29,  35,  43, 
44,46,50,51,52,59,61,  129, 
134.  157,  158,  185,  188,  202, 
256,  263,  278,  285,  302,  304, 
312,344,  392,  396 
Drumont,  Edouard,  164 
Du  Camp,  Maxime,  196,  403, 

406 
Dumas    fils,    11,   28,    29,   46, 
50,  80,  81,  96,  117,  124,  125, 
219,  235,  236,  259,  2^7,  279, 
303,  305,  311,  312,  321,  341, 
413,  416,  418 
Dumas  pere,  125 
Dupanloup,  Mgr.,  175 
Dupuy,  Ernest,  22 


Eichthal,  E.  d',  148 
Eliot,  George,  200 


Ernest-Charles,  J.,  33,  34,  62, 

164,  379,  392 
Esquier,  Charles,  88 

Estauni^,  Edouard,  87,  89 


Fabid,  Francois,  65 
Fabre,    Emile,   119,   146,   154, 
I55»  157,235,271,272,347, 

415 
Fabre,  Ferdinand,  80 
Fabre,  Henri,  52,  65 

Faguet,  Emile,  2,  36,  61,  64, 
67,  70,  81,  83,  85,  106,  109, 
132,  142,  167,  169,  170,  171, 
205,  208,  2Z7,  239,  251,  257, 
266,  276,  291,  345,  346,  359, 
361,  362,  406,  417,  421,  422 

Favre,  Jules,  336,  404,  406 

Fenelon,  142 

Fer^,  Charles,  216 

Fernet,  Andr^,  119 

Feuillet,  143,  148,  222,  223, 
391,  404,  406,  408,  423 

Filon,  Augustin,  34,  48,  49,  62, 
67,  no,  188,  333,419,422 

Finot,  Jean,  410 

Flammarion,  Camille,  421 

Flat,  Paul,  18,  38,  51,  52,  137, 
164,  310,  347,  356,  419,  426 

Flaubert,  8,  61,  62,  157,  161, 
169,  175,  200,  204,  208,  233, 

350,  413 

Fleg,  Edmond,  117 
Flers,  R.  de,  32,  131 
Florian,  105 
Fontenelle,  33,  420 
Forain,  76,  166 
Forel,  Auguste,  234,  300,  380 
Fouillee,   Alfred,   65,  98,  in, 
142,  167,  176,  202,  207,  230, 

391 
FouUon,  149 
Fouquet,  328 
France,    Anatole,    33,   45,    54, 

62,91,99,  n2,  134,140,333, 

351,  413,  419 

Fuster,  Edouard,  177 


432 


Index 


G 


Gaiffe,  F.,  105,  361 

Gaillard     de    Champris,     H., 

117 
Gambetta,  222,  336 
Gaulot,  Paul,  126 
Gaultier,  Paul,  139,  153,  391 
Gautier,   Theophile,  36,  416 
Gevin-Cassel,  O.,  374 
Ghil,  Rene,  45,  46 
Gilbert,  Nicolas,  61 
Giraud,  Victor,  143,  168,  204, 

392 
Gleize,   Lucien,  35,    178,    192, 

198,  199,  235 
Glouvet,  Jules  de,  95 
Godart,  Justin,  19 
Goethe,  4 
Gohier,  Urbain,  84 
Goncourt  brothers,  55,  56,  61, 

62,  no,  166,  200,  204,  350, 

416 
Grandet,  L.,  118 
Gravier,  Jean,   III 
Grimard,  Edouard,    108,   113, 

366 
Guiches,    Gustave,    165,    197, 

218,  260,  262 
Guillemont,  J.,  60 
Guinon,  Albert,  299 
Guizot,  63,  348 
Gyp    (Comtesse    de    Martel), 

52,  54,  228,  251 


H 


Halevy,  Ludovic,  18 
Hallays,  A.,  417 
Hamilton,  Clayton,  81 
Hamilton,  Cosmo,  384,  385 
Harlay,  Achille  de,  363 
Haussonville,  O.  d',  178 
Hennequin,  Maurice,  267 
Henriot,  Georges,  352 
Hepp,    Alexandre,    367,    373, 

374.  375 
Hermant,  Abel,  212,  262,  266, 
267 


Hervieu,  Paul,  13,  47,  113,  129, 
131,  240,  273,  274,  282,  299, 

301,  305,  318 
Honcey,  J.,  410 
Hugo,  Victor,  32,  36,  40,  60, 

63,  i05»  112,  140,  174,  200, 

334,  413,  418 
Huysmans,  J.,  207 


Ibsen,  65,  130,  168,  259,  280 
Irving,  Lawrence,  29 


Jammes,  Francis,  72,  315,  404 

Janet,  Paul,  64 

Jean  de  Meung,  327 

Joly  de  Fleury,  363 

Juhell^,  Albert,  276,  337,  345, 

347,  352,  356 
Jullien,  Jean,  no,  163 

K 

Kahn,  A.,  342 
Kessler,  Mrs.  G.  A.,  19 
Kipling,  66 
Kistemaeckers,  H.,  178,  199 


Labiche,  238,  334,  351 

La  Bruyere,  45,   60,  61,   142, 

170,  179.  329,  345 
La  Chaussee,  330,  418 
Lacordaire,  175,  178 
Lacour,  Leopold,  i,  187,  266, 

427 
La  Fontaine,  234,  328 
La  Harpe,  331 
Lallemand,  L6on,  173,  389 
Lamartine,  36,  61,  63,  138,  174, 

183,  204,  205,  418 
Lamennais,  175 
Larnoignon,  G.  de,  363 
Landay,  Maurice,  109,  353 
Lanson,  Gustave,  86,  96,  135, 

203,  244,  405,  417,  418,  421, 

422 


Index 


433 


Lavedan,  Henri,  ii,  47,  51,  69, 

130,  150,  191,  198,  226,  253 
Lavisse,  Ernest,  410 
Le  Breton,  Andre,  36,  61,  174, 

216 
Le  Brun,  R.,  226 
Lecomte,  Georges,  197 
Leconte  de  Lisle,  61,  65,  204, 

416 
Lefebure,  Louis,  130 
Lefevre,  Andre,  98 
Lefevre,  Julien,  87,  165 
Lefevre,  Maurice,  307 
Legouve,     65,    103,    109,    118, 

119,  137,  259 
Lemaitre,    Jules,    48,    51,    53, 

56,  61,    143,    161,    197,   198, 

207,  213,  214,  243,  305,  314, 

317,  404,  419 
Lemire,  Abbe,  271 
Le  Play,    108,    168,  397,  404, 

405,  409 
Leroux,  Gaston,  56,  242,  321, 

334,  350,  352,  354 
Leroux,  Pierre,  60 
Le  Roux,  Hugues,  76,  83,  115, 

221,    238,     244,     245,    404, 

405 
Leroux-Cesbron,  C,  92,  93 
Leroy-Beaulieu,  Paul,  74,  116, 

118,  141,  416 
Levy-Bruhl,  L.,  161,  175 
Lichtenberger,  Andre,  136,  166, 

236,  251 
Littre,  175,  204 
L'Hospital,  Michel  de,  363 
Loliee,  Frederic,  60,  61,    144, 

170 
Lomenie,  L.  de,  103 
Lorde,  Andre  de,  112 
Loti,  Pierre,  6,  333,  423 
Loubet,  Emile,  345 
Louis,  Saint,  326,  327 
Louis  XIV,  366 
Louis  XVI,  108 
Louis-Philippe,  King,  347 
Loyson,  P.  H.,  113,  116,  132 
Luguet,  Marcel,  20 
Lux,   Jacques,    140,    160,   323, 

324 


M 

Maeterlinck,  23,  65 
Malepeyre,  F.,  343,  344,  347 
Alallarme,  46 
Margueritte,    Paul,    119,    130, 

131,  197,  305,  317,  333,  373» 

374,  375 
Margueritte,  Paul  and  Victor, 

131,  236,  240,  247,  249,  259, 

274,  277,  300,  348,  380,  385, 

419 
Marie- Antoinette,  149 
Marion,  Henri,  15 
Martin,  Henri,  406 
Masson-Forestier,    Paul,    263, 

274,  276,  355 
Maupassant,  2,  8,  50,  61,  219, 

314 
Maurel,  Andr^,  48,  174,  409 
Maynial,  E.,  2,  61 
Meilhac,  H.,  219,  220 
Mellerio,  Andr^,  64 
Mendes,  CatuUe,  228, 415,  423, 

426 
Mercier,   Sebastien,   105,  330, 

361,  418 
Merim^e,  Prosper,  no 
Metenier,  O.,  55 
Michelet,  Jules,  174,  200,  390, 

405 
Michelet,  Alme.  Jules,  65 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  134 
Miollay,  M.,  115 
Mirabeau,  103 
Mirbeau,    Octave,     151,     160, 

176,  177,  178,  190,  192,  I93» 

198,  199,  235,  307,  350 
Mistral,  65 
Mitchell,  G.J  115 
Mole,  Mathieu,  363 
MoHere,  42,  104,  106,  107,  186, 

215,  243»  244,  245,  420,  422, 

426 
Alonceaux,  Paul,  304 
Alonnier,  M.,  216 
Monod,  G.,  204 
Montaigne,  102,  366 
Montesquieu,  363,  418 
Moreau,  Emile,  116 


434 


Index 


Moreau,  Hdg^sippe,  63 
Moriaud,  L.,  286 
Morice,  C.,  45 
Morsier,  M.  de,  16,  210 
Moselly,  Emile,  417 
Mouton,  Eugene,  65 
Muhlfeld,  Lucien,  34 
Murger,  4,  7,  45,  50,  54 
Murillo,  49 
Musset,  Alfred  de,  36,  112,  426 


N 


N6poty,  Lucien,  290 
Niccodemi,  Dario,  129 
Nietzsche,  65,   167,   176,  205, 

409 
Nordau,  Max,  205,  207,  216 
Normand,  Jacques,  402 
Novicow,  J.,  393 

O 

Ohnet,  Georges,  37,  96,  312 
P 

Pailleron,  11,  37,  49,  5°,  61 
Paleologue,  Maurice,  175 
Palissy,  Bernard,  21,  22,  28 
Parodi,  D.,  92,  169 
Pascal,  60,  ,136.  223,  403 
Pasquier,  Etienne,  363 
Pasteur,  65,  134,  169,  203,  206, 

207,  230,  351,  421 
Pecaut,  F.,  391 
Pelletan,  Eugene,  404 
Pellissier,    Georges,  125,    321, 

418,  422 
Perr^e,  E.,  8,  24 
Petit,  Georges,  115 
Philippe,     Charles- Louis,     81, 

383 
Picard,  Andr6,  109,  197 
Pigault-Lebrun,  329 
Pilon,  Edmond,  247 
Piron,  33,  105 
Poincar^,  Raymond,  169,  331, 

337,  353 
Ponsard,  Francis,  235 


Porcher,  Jacques,  117,  135 
Porto-Riche,  Georges  de,  7 
Pouillet,  E.,  337 

Pouvillon,  Emile,  80 
Pradal^s,     Henri,    3,   21,    79, 

339 

Pradel,  G.,  217 

Pratz,  Claire  de,  119,  244,  246, 

392 
Pressens^,  Edmond  de,  406 
Prevost,  Marcel,  98,  115,  125, 

190,  220,  251,  273,  274,  303, 

422 
Pr^vost-Paradol,  139,  347,  350, 

362 
Prieur,  Dr.  A.,  215,  384 
Prudhomme,    Sully,    76,    112, 

204,  421 
Psichari,  Ernest,  136,  252,  409 


Q 


Quet,  Edouard,  112,  178,  194, 

196,  198 
Quinet,  Edgar,  404,  405 


R 


Rabelais,  102,  327,  426 

Racine,  104,  224,  329 

Rageot,  G.,  8 

Rambaud,  108,  331 

Reinach,  Joseph,  49,  228 

Renan,  32,  48,  63,  65,  109,  136, 
160,  167,  168,  175,  200,  201, 
203,  204,  206,  207,  208,  391, 
403,  407,  408,  409,  410,  415, 
416,  417 

Renard,  Georges,  98,  112 

Renard,  Jules,  127 

Restif  de  la  Bretonne,  103,  106, 
118,  133,  366 

Ribot,  Theodule,  208,  223 

Richelieu,  328 

Richepin,  Jean,  97,  423 

Rimbaud,  A.,  45,  207 

Riou,  Gaston,  137,  139,  392 

Rivaliere,  G.  de,  148 

Rochard,  Jules,  85 

Roche,  Jules,  142 


Index 


435 


Rod,  Edouard,  30,  55,  56,  197, 
204,  207,  222,  334,  351,  391, 
405,  408,  410,  415,  419 

Roland,  Madame,  230 

Rosny,  J.-H.,  112,  175,  178, 
194.  195,  198,  222>,  274 

Roujon,  Henri,  377 

Rousseau,  96,  97,  98,  106,  107, 
108,  125,  135,  173,  174,  175, 
216,  366,  367,  418 

Roux-Costadan,  H.,  144 

Roz,  Firmin,  415 


Saint-Auban,  Emile  de,  263 
Sainte-Beuve,  34,  36,  66,  204, 

421 
Saint -IVIarc  Girardin,  67,  102, 

119.  125 
Saint-Simon,  332,  426 
Salandri,  Gaston,  21 
Sales,  Pierre,  397 
Salomon,  Michel,  209 
Sand,  George,  36,  80,  96,  174, 

243.  259,  303,  406,  416 
Sandeau,   Jules,    69,    71,    161, 

235.  252,  253 
Sarcey,  7,  51,  52,  76,  78,  102, 

260,  264 
Sardou,  Andre,  217 
Sardou,  Victorien,   11,  50,  74, 

80,  91,  144,  159,  184,  222 
Scherer,    Edmond,    148,    149, 

183 
Schinz,  Albert,  230 
Schopenhauer,  98 
Schure,  Edouard,  167,  205,  207, 

223,  410 
Scribe,  37,  54,  55,  60,  235 
Seailles,  Gabriel,  83,  100,  203, 

406 
Seche,  Alphonse,  7,  34,  36,  136, 

164,  255,  256,  258,  312,  323 
Sedaine,  366 
Seguier,  Antoine-Mathieu,  346, 

363 

Segur,  Marquis  de,  4,  16,  28, 

85,  425 


Seilhac,  L.  de,  178 
Sharp,  William  G.,  115 
Shaw,  George  Bernard,  33,  199, 

216,  219,  224,  228,  234,  250, 
.276,  2>77,  378 
Sigaux,  Jean,  282 
Simon,  Jules,  332,  414 
Sorbets,  Gaston,  126,  399 
Sorel,  A.-E.,  17 
Sorel,  Charles,  60,  329 
Spencer,    Herbert,    8,   96,   97, 

98,  102,  168,  176,  239,  263, 

421 
Spronck,    Maurice,    96,     149, 

160,  165,  176,  177,  277,  279 
Spuller,  E.,  149 
Stael,  Mme.  de,  138,  268,  354 
Stainville,  IMichel,  410 
Stendhal,  60,  98,  no 
Stoullig,  Edmond,  32,  33,  154, 

187,  189,  221,  293,  371,  377, 

401 
Straus,  Paul,  iii,  177 
StrindlDerg,  48 


Taine,  62,  65,  85,  103,  167,  168, 
203,  204,  208,  223,  404,  405 

Theocritus,  33 

Theuriet,  80,  S2 

Thiers,  63 

Thiesson,  G.,  64 

Thomas,  F61ix,  117 

Thomas,  P.  V.,  17,  21 

Thou,  De,  363 

Thurner,  G.,  226 

Tillet,  J.  du,  59,  150,  159,  215, 
234,  244,  257,  320 

Tinayre,  Marcelle,  56 

Tinseau,  L.  de,  251 

Tixier,  Octave,  341,  342 

Tocqueville,  180,  334,  404,  406 

Tolstoy,  9,  96,  99,  174,  184, 
188,  199,  205,  206,  238,  333, 

334,  344,  417 
Toulouse,  Dr.,  323 
Trarieux,  Gabriel,  113 
Turgot,  4 


436 


Index 


u 

Ulbach,  L.,  379 
V 

Vallery-Radot,    Robert,     169, 

404,  409 
Valles,  Jules,  45,  93,  no 
Vanderem,  F.,  116,  269,  348 
Vaugeois,  H.,  164 
Vauvenargues,  179,  330 
Veber,  Pierre,  231,  293 
Vergil,  333 
Verne,  Jules,  421 
Veuillot,  Francois,  2,  226,  243, 

264,  338 
Veuillot,  Louis,  8 
Vigny,  Alfred  de,  61,  63,  174, 

:-,  328,418 


Vincent  de  Paul,  Saint,  172 
Vogiie,  E.  M.  de,  63,  147,  163, 

168,  207,  243,  404,  405,  417 
Voiture,  426 
Voltaire,  33,  105,  136,  175,  330, 

355»  362,  403,  418 

W 

Wells,  H.  G.,  393 

Wolff,  Pierre,  56,  220,  242 

Wyzewa,  T.  de,  59,  228 


Zola,  7,  61,  62,  80,  99,  140,  176, 
177,  179.  200,  203,  204,  207, 
209,  215,  216,  217,  223,  229, 
238,  259,  419,  423 


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